


7- y ^^VJ^ « 



■^o 



.^" 







.-^^ . ,. 




G^ 









-i-j 



•'J N ■ »>J) 



^ .^^' 







s^' ^^ ^ 



<:) 



0>' 



'■J^ 












Y « f 






"<p <^\ 



* r 



s 



.'^'^ 














8 1 1' 









x^^^. 



^i| 







'%/'^ 



'^. 







mm 








EXECUTION OF MARY STUART. 



THE 



LIFE OF MARY STUART, 

QUEEIN OE SCOTS. 
B Y M-:^ D E M A R L E S , 

CONTINUATOR OF DR. LINGAED. 

WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING FIFTEEN OF MARY'S LETTERS, 
AND ADDITIONAL NOTES. 

By M. I. RYAN. 




MARY STUART ESCAPES FROM LOCHLEVEN CASTLE. 



Qui pel- virtutem pf^ritat, non interit. 
' ' Plaut., in Captv 



Nam virtus mihi 

In astra et ipsos fecit ad superos iter. 

Sen., de Here. 

FIFTH THOUSAND. 

BOSTON: 
PATRICK DONAIIOE, 23 FRANKLIN STREET. 

1857- 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

PATRICK DONAHOE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



STEREOTYPED AT THE 
BOSTON STEREOTTPE FOUNDRT. 



i ^ ^ 



1^0 
PREFATORY. 



The work of M. de Maries has now been 
some time before the public, and the number 
of editions through which it has gone speaks 
forcibly in its favor. 

The author's plain statement of facts, lucid 
explanations, unanswerable arguments, and logi- 
cal conclusions will, it is believed, set at rest the 
vexed question of Mary's innocence or culpability. 
It proves satisfactorily that Mary's death was 
sought, as Bishop Milner has asserted, " merely 
because she was a Catholic, and heir apparent to 
the crown." 

The size of the volume has precluded the cita- 
tion of authorities in many instances, but the 
reader may place implicit confidence in the accu- 
racy of the author's statements ; whenever prac- 
1* (5) 



6 • PREFATORY. 

ticable the ipsissima verba of the English historian 
have been preserved. ^ 

Many notes, mostly extracted from works of 
merit, and elucidatory of points but slightly 
touched upon, have been added ; and in the 
Appendix will be found some of Mary's most 
interesting letters. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Introduction ^ 

CHAPTER I. 

Birth of Mary — Troubles during her Minority — She is conveyed 



to France. 



19 



CHAPTER n. 

Continuation of Troubles — Reign and Death of Mary, of Eng- 
land — Elizabeth — Peace of Cateau Cambresis — Marriage 
of Mary Stuart ^8 

CHAPTER HI. 

Hatred of Elizabeth to Mary — Her Apostasy — Death of Henry 
II. — Accession of the Dauphin and Mary 73 

CHAPTER IV. 

Death of Francis II. — Mary's Return to Scotland. . . .'.116 

CHAPTER V. 
Reign of Mary — She marries Damley 138 

CHAPTER VI. 

Murder of Rizzio — Assassination of Darnley. . . . .162 

CHAPTER VH. 

Parties formed — The Queen is carried ofF by Bothwell, and 
forced to marry him. l^l 

CHAPTER Vm. 

Conspiracy against Bothwell and Mary — She is confined in a 
Castle, from whence she escapes — She seeks an Asylum in 

England, and finds only a Prison 208 

(7) 



8 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Trial of Mary - The York Conferences - Attempts to 
discovered. 



escape 



233 



CHAPTER X. 

Negotiations with Mary - Troubles in Scotiand - Execution of 
Norfolk. . 



264 



•CHAPTER XI. 

Association - Troubles - Conspiracy of Babington - Mary is 
implicated in it. - Her Trial, Condemnation, and Death. . 292 



LSTTER 
1. - 

2. - 

3.- 

4. - 

5.- 

6, - 

7.- 

8. - 

9. - 

10.- 

11.- 

12.- 

13.- 

14.- 

15.- 



APPENDIX. 

No. 

- The Queen of Scots to the Archbishop of Glasgow, 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Elizabeth. 

- Mary to Mauvissiere. 

- Mary to Mauvissiere. 

- Mary to Mauvissiere. . 

- Mary to the Duke of Guise. 

- Mary to Pope Sixtus V. 

- Mary to Le Preau, her Almoner. 
• Mary to the Duke of Guise. , 
. Mary to the King of France. 



. 331 

332 
. 338 

343 
. 348 

360 
. 362 

370 
. 373 

375 
. 380 

383 
. 385 

387 
. 390 



INTEODUCTIOlSr. 



James V., King of Scotland, had freed himself 
from the odious guardianship of the Earl of 
Angus, whose devotedness Henry VIII. had pur- 
chased. This sufficed for the misunderstanding 
which arose between the two princes ; and as 
courtiers are in the habit of espousing the quar- 
rels of their masters, so as to lay claim to their 
favor, the frontier governors of the t"wo king- 
doms reciprocally commenced acts of hostility, 
which would have certainly led to war, had not 
the amicable intervention of Francis I. prevented 
it. When the uncle and nephew* were recon- 
ciled, at least in appearance, it was proposed to 
give as a spouse to the King of Scotland the 
princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIH. and 
the unfortunate infanta of Spain, Catharine, 
whose unfaithful husband had sacrificed her to 

* James was a nephew of Henry, a sister of the latter being his 
mother. 

(9) 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

his unbridled iust. Henry at first liad seemed 
to desire this union ; but that was before he had 
extorted a sentence of divorce from the iniqui- 
tous judges. The divorce granted, he had mar- 
ried Anne Boleyn ; and he then feared that the 
children of Mary, should she marry the king of 
Scotland, would one day dispute the crown with 
his own issue by the woman v/hom he had 
debauched by seating her on a defiled throne : 
he refused his consent. 

Offended at this refusal, James resolved to 
solicit a consort from some one of the continental 
princes, expecting by this alliance to strengthen 
himself against the King of England. Henry 
divined the intention of his nephew, and wished 
to render it abortive by indirect means. He at 
first endeavored to gain him to his religious 
views ; if James would adopt these and abjure 
the faith of his fathers, he could no longer count 
on an alliance with Catholic princes ; and it was 
a capital stroke. He sent his agent Barlow to 
Scotland, as bearer of a dogmatic treatise on the 
spiritual supremacy of princes. James received 
the book and the envoy very coldly ; Barlow 
returned dissatisfied, and revenged himself by 
abusive language and calumnies on the manner 
of his reception. 



IxNTRODUCTION. 11 

Henry was not disheartened ; he demanded an 
interview of his nephew^, and designated the city 
of York as the place of meeting. • But James 
knew the Punic faith of his uncle, and took care 
not to endanger his personal safety : he replied 
that he much desired an interview, provided it 
took place in France, in the presence of Francis 
L, which proposition Henry on his part rejected. 
Negotiations were broken off, and James ex- 
pressed himself for France. The hand of Mary 
of Bourbon, a French princess, was offered him ; 
but before concluding the match he wished to 
see her, and under pretence of joining Francis, 
who was driving the Imperialists 'from Provence, 
whither they had penetrated, he repaired to Di- 
eppe, saw his intended, and, not finding her to his 
taste, rapidly pursued his route towards Lyons. 
He there met Francis, who brought him to Paris. 
In the midst of the fetes and pleasures with 
which Francis surrounded him, James entirely 
forgot Mary of Bourbon. 

He had seen Magdalen of France, daughter 
of the king, and conceived a violent passion for 
her. He married her ; but unhappily the health 
of Magdalen was feeble and delicate : scarcely had 
she arrived in Scotland ere she fell ill, and three 
months had not elapsed since her marriage, when 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

she beheld the tomb open to receive her. She 
descended into it with courage, and her resigna- 
tion at so tender an age increased the regret 
caused by her loss. For several months James 
appeared inconsolable. But there is no grief 
that time does not assuage : the following year 
(1538) he espoused Mary, a princess of Lor- 
raine, daughter of the Duke of Guise and the 
Duchess dowager of Longueville. James in- 
creased his glory by this alliance, as the virtuous 
Mary had refused to share with Henry VIII. the 
brilliant throne of England. 

Henry had seen with grief this intimate alli- 
ance between Scotland and France. In his 
designs of conquest and proselytism, he flattered 
himself, if the King of Scotland had no allies, 
with being able to compel him without difficulty 
to acknowledge the doctrines which he had en- 
tailed upon his own kingdom, and perhaps even 
make of Scotland an English province. But 
sustained by France, James could resist success- 
fully ; it was necessary, then, to deprive Scot- 
land of this support, and afterwards profit by its 
isolated position to subjugate it. Henry decided 
at once, if the negotiations which were about 
to be resumed did not prosper, he would use 
force, and convert those with his sword whom 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

his controversial work had been unable tc 
pervert. 

Sadler was sent to James on the same secret 
mission that Barlow had been, and he demanded 
a special interview with the king, (1540,) which 
James granted. Sadler showed him a pretend- 
edly intercepted letter from Cardinal Beaton* to 
his agent at Rome ; he was using his influence, 
said Sadler, to subject the royal authority to the 
temporal power of the pope. The king was 
pleased to reply that this letter was well known 
to him, and that before its transmission, which 
had taken place with his express consent, the 
cardinal had given him a copy of it. 

" My master," replied Sadler, " blushes at 
your weakness. You are but the steward of 
your kingdom, instead of being its sovereign. 
You need money ; why not seize the goods of 
the church ? O, in the dissolute manners of 
your clergy you will find a thousand reasons 
which should justify you in your own eyes, if 
you need being justified." 

" Sadler," responded the king, " the goods 
which Heaven has given me are sufficient. I 
have no need of usurping the property of others. 

* This cardinal, Archbishop of St. Andrew's and Primate of Scot- 
land, had succeeded his uncle in the charge of the archiepiscopal see. 

2 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

If I were in real need, the clergy, I am certain, 
would come magnanimously to my assistance ; 
and if, unfortunately, some members of the clergy 
profane their holy ministry, there are many oth- 
ers who merit all our eulogies, and it is not just 
to punish the innocent with the guilty." 

Henry's envoy then turned to the question of 
policy. He desired to prove to the King of Scot- 
land that the alliance of his uncle would be a 
thousand times more advantageous to him than 
that of France ; for, after the death of Prince 
Edward, who was in ill health, he would become 
the heir presumptive to the English throne. 
Sadler concluded by urging the king to accept 
the interview at York. The king thanked him 
for the zeal he showed for his interest, but very 
ingeniously eluded the invitation to repair to 
York. 

This invitation was once more renewed, and 
Henry was even induced to believe that his 
nephew would accept. It is added that in gen- 
eral the nobles appeared eager enough to enrich 
themselves at the expense of the clergy, and that 
this body, which did not wish to be despoiled 
of their property, opposed them energetically. 
Meanwhile the cardinal departed for Rome. 
When Henry heard of his departure he was at 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

first much disquieted, since he imagined that the 
cardinal had only travelled through France to 
engage Francis to enter into a league against 
him. But after having reflected on it, he rejoiced 
at his departure : he thought it would be easier 
to triumph over the obstinacy of James, who 
would be no longer sustained by the presence 
and influence of this prelate. Impressed with 
this idea he repaired to Yorkshire, there to await 
his nephew ; but James persisted in his refusal, 
for he feared with reason that if once his uncle 
got him within his clutches, he would not restore 
him to liberty until after he had constrained him 
to renounce his alliance with France and decline 
the spiritual jurisdiction of the pope. Henry 
returned to London, much irritated at his 
nephew ; and he refused for a long time to receive 
the Scottish ambassador, specially charged to offer 
his master's excuses. 

Henry was fully decided on having recourse 
to force to obtain from James what he could not 
draw from him by stratagem ; nevertheless, be- 
fore commencing the war, he wished to sound 
the court of France. His assents informed him 
by letter that notwithstanding all the good will 
which Francis bore to the King of Scotland, the 
latter could scarcely expect any assistance from 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

him, on account of the embarrassment which the 
emperor* caused the King of France himself. 
Upon that Henry no longer hesitated. He or- 
dered his governors of the frontier to commence 
hostilities, and soon after, to revenge himself for 
a check received in the beginning by his arms, 
he ordered the Duke of Norfolk to assemble an 
army in York, take the command of it, and 
immediately invade Scotland. James was not 
prepared for war ; he commenced negotiations 
which detained the Duke of Norfolk in York, 
but in a few days the duke was formally ordered 
to advance into Scotland. 

The duke obeyed, and had the deplorable 
advantage of delivering to the flames two de- 
fenceless cities and twenty villages. After this 
exploit, the want of provisions obliged him to 
retire. (1542.) James wished to pursue the Eng- 
lish, but all his officers remonstrated with him, 
as — should the same misfortune happen to him 
as to his father at Flodden Field — his death 
would leave Scotland exposed to become the 
prey of his uncle, who would not fail to claim 
his inheritance as his nearest heir. James 
yielded only in part to the counsel of his offi- 
cers : he disbanded the troops collected around 

* Charles V. 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

hirn, but immediately proceeded to the western 
frontier, where he had a body of ten thousand 
men, whom he ordered to advance into England, 
and spend as many days there as Norfolk had 
passed in Scotland. 

James had to repent of having yielded to mo- 
mentary wrath. These ten thousand men per- 
ceived beyond the frontier some English troops, 
seemingly prepared to dispute the passage ; and 
whether they refused to fight because they were 
commanded by an unpopular officer, or that they 
imagined they were to oppose Norfolk's whole 
army, they dispersed without having drawn a 
sword, and fled in every direction. Twenty-four 
pieces of artillery and all the baggage fell into 
the hands of the English, and one thousand 
prisoners, among whom were tv/o earls, five 
barons, and two hundred knights, were sent to 
England to attest a victory which had not cost a 
single man. 

This unexpected disaster grieved the heart of 
James. He departed ill for Edinburgh, whence 
he reached the solitary manor of Falkland. 
Hardly had he arrived, when he was seized with 
a fever, which, finding him already undermined 
by chagrin, made rapid progress. He expired 
2* 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

on the 14th of December, twenty days after the 
eventful disaster to his arms, and eight days 
after his wife had given birth to a daughter. 
This daughter, born under such sad auspices, 
was Mary Stuart, a woman as accomplished as 
she was unfortunate, upon whom Nature lav- 
ished all her gifts, upon whom Misfortune wore 
out all her darts. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



CHAPTER I. 

BIRIS OF MARY. — TROUBLES DURING HER MINORITY. — SHE 
IS CONVEYED TO FRANCE, 

The birth of Mary was not celebrated by pub- 
lic fetes, and no joyful strain made the mountain 
echoes resound ; she enters into the world, over- 
whelmed with her mother's tears, opening her 
eyes before a tomb which awaits its prey, receiv- 
ing life and losing him who imparted it to her. 
Scotland's weeds overhang her cradle, funereal 
crape girds her forehead ; whilst not far off, 
hostile rivalries, ambitious designs, are being 
agitated ; at the foot of the tableau Discord 
brandishes her torches, and the flames of war 
light up the scene. Two parties, equally nu- 
merous and powerful, are formed about the 
infant royal : the one wishes to subject her coun- 
try to England, the other to save it by relying 

(19) 



20 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

upon France. Henry VIII. had no sooner re- 
ceived the news of the twofold event which 
gave a sovereign to Scotland in place of the 
deceased king, than, immediately abandoning the 
part of converter, to be assumed thereafter, he 
conceived the project of adding Scotland to his 
kingdom, destining the new-born princess as a 
spouse for his son. If the Scottish Parliament 
would accept his proposition, he would assume 
without opposition the government of the king- 
dom, either as father-in-law or as grand-uncle of 
the queen. The Earl of Angus and Sir George 
Douglas, upon whom he had plentifully bestowed 
his bounty, the Earls of Cassilis and Glencairn, 
Lords Maxwell, Fleming, Somerville, Oliphant, 
and Gray, who were made prisoners in the un- 
fortunate affair of Solway Moss, were taken by 
Henry into his confidence, and all engaged to 
serve him in his designs : the two former acted 
through gratitude, the others through the hope 
of being soon restored to liberty. Nevertheless, 
Henry did not allow them to depart until he had 
received hostages from them as guarantees of 
their return in case they did not succeed. 

In vain had King James, before dying, ex- 
pressed in a will his last wishes ; in vain had he 
recommended his daughter and his spouse to 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 21 

the lords who surrounded him. Hardly had he 
closed his eyes than his entreaties, his recom- 
mendations, the promises he had obtained, were 
all forgotten. To see these courtiers, humble 
and cringing before their master, become haughty 
and fierce when this master was no more, one 
would say that, enemies of all superiority, they 
wished, by disobedience, to indemnify themselves 
for the restraint to which they had been sub- 
jected; to wash themselves, by breaking the 
idol, of the humiliation of having worshipped it. 
When, after the king's death. Cardinal Beaton 
— called by the French Bethune — made known 
the will, which conferred the regency upon him- 
self, three Scottish lords being given him for 
colleagues, no account was taken of this docu- 
ment, which some suspected of being forged 
and substituted, whilst it was rejected by others 
because it disposed of the regency in favor of 
persons who were not their choice. Several 
lords, having met at Edinburgh, appointed regent 
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, who was, more- 
over, regarded as heir presumptive to the throne, 
in case of the death of the new born. Cardinal 
Beaton agreed to an arrangement which he could 
not prevent. It was after this transaction that 
the two exiles, Angus and Douglas, and the 



22 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

prisoners of Solway Moss, arrived at Edin- 
burgh. 

The English party was strengthened by all 
those men whose services could be purchased. 
Nevertheless, there were many amongst them 
who interested themselves but little for the King 
of England : they only desired to withdraw safe 
and sound from his hands those whom they had 
left as hostages. The French party had at its 
head the queen mother, the cardinal, the Earls 
of Huntley, Murray, and Argyle. This party 
could count more on the cooperation of the 
members of the clergy, whom the fear of re- 
ligious innovation would have alone determined 
even if their chief motive had not been patriot- 
ism. The nation in general appeared to favor 
the party of the queen ; for it hated English 
domination as much as it was attached to France, 
its ancient and loyal ally. 

The regent was in great embarrassment. The 
opposition which he had received from Cardinal 
Beaton would have impelled him from spite to 
join the English party, had he not otherwise 
mistrusted Henry's projects. He was well aware 
that whichever party prevailed, his own rights to 
the succession of James would be equally en- 
dangered. Henry, to terminate his hesitation, 



LIFE OP MARY STUART. 23 

offered him the hand of the Princess Elizabeth 
for his young son ; but the regent understood 
that this offer was only made him to prevent his 
son espousing the young queen herself. This 
reflection did not prevent him from pronouncing 
himself in favor of Henry ; he even imprisoned 
the cardinal, under the pretext that the latter had 
engaged the Duke of Guise to raise an army and 
send it to Scotland to sustain the interests of the 
queen mother against him. (1543.) 

Meanwhile Parliament had been convoked, and 
had acted upon Henry's propositions. It accepted 
that which proposed the marriage of Prince Ed- 
ward and the queen, but rejected all the others, 
which treated of confiding the queen to his care, 
as well as the administration of the government 
and the occupation of all fortified places, dunng 
her minority. It was believed that Scottish 
pride would revolt against such exorbitant preten- 
sions. Henry, however, persisted ; and when the 
envoys of the regent informed him of what had 
passed, he did not dissemble his resentment. 
He even reproached the Earl of Angus and his 
adherents, through Sir Ralph Sadler, complain- 
ing bitterly of having been badly served by 
them, and accusing them of betraying their 
promises. 



24 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Angus responded that his friends and himself 
had obtained all it was possible to obtain under 
the present circumstances. He urgently exhorted 
him to content himself provisorily with what he 
had obtained ; all the rest, added the earl, will 
be obtained in time, but we can only proceed 
slowly. If, nevertheless, he had not patience to 
wait, he could invade Scotland with an army 
strong enough to inspire terror ; and in this case 
the loyal Scot would engage to assist the dan- 
gerous enemy of his country with all his forces. 
Henry, who to all his faults joined much obsti- 
nacy, resisted for three months the advice of the 
Earl of Angus. Being finally convinced that 
the longer he delayed his decision, the more time 
he allowed the French party to gain strength, he 
sigfied a treaty of peace between the two king- 
doms ; it was moreover determined that Mary 
should espouse Prince Edward, and that so soon 
as she attained her tenth year she should be con- 
veyed to England. 

Thus, in disposing of the noble daughter of 
the kings of Scotland, they wait not for her to 
form a vow, a desire ; they stipulate for her, and 
reckon as nought neither her heart, her future 
affections, nor her repugnances. Such is the 
condition of kings : in exchange for the supreme 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 25 

power which society confides to them, it is de- 
sired that they devote themselves more to society 
than to their families, than to themselves. But 
Heaven sports with the projects of men : those 
of the King of England were not to be accom- 
plished. Undoubtedly, if Mary had become the 
wife of Edward, her head would have been 
adorned with a double diadem ; perhaps she 
would even have given to England an heir to 
the throne. But assuredly the infant Mary, edu- 
cated in the midst of a corrupt court, composed 
entirely of men who had sold their consciences 
for lucre ; delivered to a fanatical husband, who 
impelled proselytism and converting zeal still 
farther than his father ; surrounded by seductions 
in an age when reason could not make itself 
heard, — Mary would have yielded : she would 
have abjured the faith of her fathers. Hurried at 
his instigation from abyss to abyss, she would 
have embraced the reformed religion, the perisha- 
ble work of her grand-uncle. It was not thus : 
God wished the soul of Mary for himself, and in 
order that she might be worthy of him, he desired 
to preserve her incontaminate. A few momentary 
weaknesses, expiated by a long martyrdom, have 
not hindered her from receiving in the bosom of 
her Creator the reward of her royal virtues. 
3 



26 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Meanwhile Cardinal Beaton had obtained his 
liberty from the regent upon certain conditions, 
and on the other hand Francis had transported 
assistance in money and ammunition, which 
augmented the hope cherished by the queen's 
party. An unforeseen circumstance happened 
to complicate the various interests which then 
agitated Scotland. The Earl of Lennox, claim- 
ing to be the sole heir in case of Mary's decease, 
demanded the regency, which, according to him, 
could not belong to the Earl of Arran, who was 
only an illegitimate son of James IV. The car- 
dinal appeared disposed in favor of Lennox ; 
Lennox in his turn assisted the cardinal in ren- 
dering his party dominant in the northern prov- 
inces of Scotland, by taking under his special 
charge the infant royal and ti'ansporting it to 
Stirling Castle, one of the strongest in the 
country. 

Henry heard of this translation with pain ; he 
feared that Mary would be sent to France, and 
he endeavored to prevent it. He offered the 
regent the assistance of an English army ; he 
promised him anew the hand of Elizabeth for 
his son, and for himself the sovereignty of Scot- 
land beyond the Frith ; * and as the regent did 

* The Frith is the navigable outlet of the River Forth, which 
layes the walls of Edinburgh. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 27 

not respond to his advances, Henry sided with 
Lennox, who disagreed with the cardinal, be- 
cause the cardinal was on terms of agreement 
with the regent. Lennox, influenced likewise by 
his passion for Margaret Douglas, daughter of the 
earl of Angus, and niece of Henry, concluded by 
joining the partisans of England. They were 
all bound by an oath, similar to that which for- 
merly bound the b^'others in anns, to live and die 
for each other. Knowledge of this compact was 
obtained through a copy of the oath found upon 
Somerville, who was arrested by the order of the 
regent; besides this copy was a letter to King 
Henry, asking assistance of him. 

The regent, being urged then by the pope's 
legate, Mark Germani, and by the French am- 
bassador, Labroche, decided unwillingly upon 
making war. He commenced by convoking Par- 
liament, which assembled on the 3d of Decem- 
ber. After a warm discussion, it was declared 
that the friends of England were traitors to theii 
country, and that the treaty of the 1st of July 
was null, either on account of the delay of Henry 
to ratify it, or because he had permitted and 
sanctioned the hostile acts of his frontier gov- 
ernors, and because he had seized many mer 
chant ships belonging to the inhabitants of 



28 LIFE OP MARY STUART. 

Edinburgh. Notwithstanding this formal de- 
claration, the Earl of Arran endeavored to resume 
negotiations ; but the king, who regarded him 
as alone culpable, would hear nothing, and during 
the month of May, (1544,) Seymour, earl of Her- 
fort, and uncle of Prince Edward, arrived in the 
Frith with an armed body of ten thousand men. 
He demanded that the young queen be delivered 
to him ; and, upon the regent's refusal, disem- 
barked his troops, and marched to Edinburgh, 
where he was joined by a body of five thousand 
knights, who came from Berwick. The next 
day he forced the gate of the city, which was 
delivered up, for four days, to pillage and in- 
cendiarism. After this noble exploit, and upon 
the news that the regent was collecting his troops, 
Seymour gave the order to retreat. He burned, 
as he passed, the cities of Seaton, Haddington, 
and Dunbar, whilst his fleet burned Leith and 
demolished the pier ; he arrived at Berwick with- 
out having suffered much loss. 

This war lasted nearly three years ; on each 
side were cities ruined, territory devastated, and 
much blood spilled; yet Henry's demands had 
not been acceded to. Lennox, on marrying 
Margaret Douglas, had promised Henry his 
castle of Dumbarton ; but the indignant garrison 



LIFE OP MARY STUART. 29 

closed the gates of the fortress, refused to receive 
Lennox himself, and shortly afterwards delivered 
the place to the regent. The barbarous Henry, 
hearkening only to his wrath, ordered the throats 
of the Scottish hostages, who were confined at 
Carlisle, to be cut. Surely, if before the war the 
Scots were opposed to English rule, the manner 
in which they were treated, and the massacre of 
the hostages, no longer allowed them to see in 
Henry but an odious tyrant, an enemy of God 
and man, seeking to extinguish his unjust resent- 
ment in the blood of the people. 

Unhappily for Scotland, the King of France 
was only able to send a small body of troops. 
Obliged to defend himself at the same time 
against his eternal enemy, Charles V., and against 
Henry, his old friend and the perfidious instiga- 
tor of this war, he had need of all his resources 
for himself, and was constrained to neglect Scot- 
land. This was what Henry desired, who, be- 
sides, to color his aggression, spoke very haugh- 
tily of his three grievances against Francis ; fo- 
menting the troubles in Scotland, and furnishing 
succor of every kind to those whom he styled 
rebels ; that is to say, to the partisans of the 
young queen and the regent, the enemies of Eng- 
lish sovereignty; of wishing to seize Mary, to 
3* 



30 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

convey her to France in order to hinder the future 
union of Scotland and England by the marriage 
of the heir of the kingdom with Prince Edward ; 
of having said — and this was Henry's principal 
charge, being a new prophet, who wished that 
his opinions and acts should be for the whole 
world acts of faith — that his marriage with Anne 
Boleyn was null, and that he had only contracted 
it by violating his promise not to marry this 
woman. 

It is true that Barnet published a statement in 
which it is contended that Francis had declared 
that Henry's marriage with Catharine, his broth- 
er's widow, was radically null ; that consequently 
that of Anne was valid, and that the pope's de- 
cision in the affair was the consequence of error 
and injustice. Barnet went farther: Francis, 
according to him, obligated himself and his suc- 
cessors to maintain this opinion by arms. As 
this paper has neither date nor signature, it is 
presumable that it was fabricated in England, 
presented, perhaps, to the King of France, and 
rejected by him ; who, according to the testimony 
of Cardinal Pole, responded to the warm solici- 
tations of Henry on the subject of the divorce : 
" I am and wish to be his friend, but only to 
the altarP 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 31 

Charles V., who was as dishonest as he was 
powerful, was much less scrupulous than the 
King of France, and he was easily persuaded by- 
Henry ; for since the natural death of Catharine 
— the emperor's aunt — and the violent death 
of Anne Boleyn — she was decapitated — there 
was no longer any subject for misunderstand- 
ing between them, and nothing should hinder 
them from uniting against France. The emperor 
modestly exacted one condition : he wished the 
Princess Mary, daughter of Catharine, to be re- 
established in her rank of legitimate daughter of 
the king, and consequently, in all her rights to 
the succession. This was placing Henry in gTeat 
embarrassment ; for this recognition of the rights 
of the daughter proved explicitly the rights of 
the mother ; Parliament complaisantly upheld 
him in this evil course, declaring Mary capable 
of succeeding, without making any mention of 
her legitimacy ; it v/as a kind of compromise 
between the exigencies of the emperor and the 
old hatred of Henry. It was agreed between 
them, by the treaty of the 11th .of February, 
1543, that they would jointly summon Francis 
I. to renounce his alliance with the Porte, to re- 
pay all the damage which might have resulted 
to individual Christians by this impious alii- 



32 



LIFE OF MARY STUART* 



ance,* by paying to the King of England the ar- 
rears of the pension which he claimed from him, 
and by giving him security for the payment of ex- 
piring annuities. Finally, if the King of France 
did not settle these sums in forty days from his 
acceptance of these conditions, the emperor would 
reclaim the duchy of Burgundy, and the King of 
England would claim all the possessions of his 
predecessors in France. 

Francis did not even wish to hear the herald 
who was sent to notify him of the demand of 
the allied princes. They expected a refusal, and 
were prepared for war ; Francis had not believed 
the danger imminent ; besides, he could not pre- 
vent his kingdom being invaded by Luxembourg 
and Calais. The emperor, not meeting with 
any resistance, had penetrated into the heart of 
Champagne ; but provisions suddenly failed him, 
and it would have been very easy for Francis to 
starve him in his camp, and force him to sur- 
render without fighting, had not the Duchess of 

* It is strange enough to hear Charles V. and Henry VIII. hold 
such language — one, -who besieged the pope in Rome, and caused 
prayers to be offered up in Spain for his deliverance, the ally of the 
Bey of Tunis, the assassin of his brothers, the protector of all the sec- 
tarians of Germany, &e. ; the other, the enraged enemy of Catholi- 
cism, and the founder of a pretended religion, which was "vvith him 
but the worship of the passions. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART* 83 

Etampes, abusing the silly confidence of the 
king, given him the advice which saved him and 
his army. The treaty of Cressy (September, 
1544) terminated the war with the emperor. 
Henry, on his side, made himself master of 
Boulogne, and returned to England in the fol- 
lowing winter. Francis resolved to let fall upon 
Henry the whole weight of his resentment; he 
equipped a numerous fleet, and insulted with im- 
punity the coasts of England, but could not take 
Calais, or retake Boulogne. 

This bad success, which was unjustly imputed 
to the general of the French army, had damped 
the bellicose spirit of the King of France, whilst 
the King of England was no less tired of a war 
in which was to be gained neither profit nor 
honor ; propositions of peace were made, and a 
brief armistice was concluded, which was prof- 
ited by to regulate the conditions of the treaty. 
It was agreed that for the future Francis should 
pay the pension stipulated in 1525 ; * that commis- 

* This was during the captivity of Francis, after the battle of Pa- 
via. The French cabinet then purchased peace of England, and the 
renunciation of its ancient claims, for the sum of two millions of 
golden crowns, and, moreover, an annual and for life pension of two 
hundred thousand croims, which would, nevertheless, only commence 
after the capital of two millions should be paid at convenient pe- 
riods. 



34 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

sioners should be appointed to settle a pretended 
debt of Henry of six million crowns; that the 
King of England should restore, in eight years, 
the city of Boulogne, upon Francis's paying him 
the sum of two millions of crowns. Thus this 
was only a monetary treaty, by which Henry, 
who was supposed to be the richest prince of 
Europe, sought the whole advantage. (June, 
1546.) 

Heaven did not permit his cupidity to be 
glutted in enjoyment, nor his eyes to be gratified 
by the sight of this gold, for which alone he 
seemed to have combated for many years. Worn 
out by pleasures, fatigued by excesses, he scarce- 
ly supported the weight of his body ; he was, 
besides, not of an advanced age, — he was only 
fifty-six years of age, — but he had become so 
enormously fat that he could no longer sustain 
himself, and it was only with the assistance of 
an easy chair on wheels that he could pass from 
one apartment to another. He had not even 
strength to sign his despatches ; three secretaries 
were constantly near him, to attach to docu- 
ments requiring his signature a dry stamp, bear- 
ing the name of the king, and to follow the traces 
marked by the stamp with a pen. To this ex- 
traordinary corpulence was added an ulcer in the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 35 

thigh, which had more than once threatened his 
life, and which, at this epoch, defied all the art 
of the physicians. The acritude of his temper- 
ament, his habitually irritated state, his sus- 
picions, his fears of all about him, contributed 
not a little to increase his malady. He died on 
the night of the 28th of January, 1547. 

Francis was at St. Germain when he re- 
ceived the news of Henry's death. He was so 
much the more grievously affected by it because, 
being about the same age, — fifty-three years, — 
he had for a long time feared that his career was 
about to close. Francis had, in fact, ruined his 
health in his more tender years by intemperance, 
and, slowly consumed by the malady, he felt 
that premature old age would have but a short 
term ; he survived his eldest brother — thus he 
called the King of England — only two months. 
" My eldest brother is gone ! " exclaimed he, 
sighing ; " my turn is not far off." 

The Scots learned the death of Francis with 
much sorrow ; for they lost a protector, and they 
knew not if Henry, his successor, would take 
the same interest in them and their sovereign. 
It was known, however, that the princes of Lor- 
raine would have great influence at Paris, the 
queen mother being the sister of the Duke of 



36 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Guise ; and this circumstance gave much hope 
it was known besides that this prince hated 
the English ; he had, then, a double motive for 
watching the welfare of Scotland, as much as 
his own welfare in France would permit him. 
His protection appeared to be so much the more 
necessary as Cardinal Beaton, the zealous fol- 
lower of the house of Stuart, had been treach- 
erously assassinated. 

Henry VIH. had not forgiven him for with- 
drawing Mary from his pm*suit ; and he had not 
rejected the offer which had been made by Wil- 
liam Kirkaldi, Wishart, and some others, to 
deliver him by assassination from the trouble- 
some prelate, whom he always found in his way. 
Not to repel a proposition of this kind with the 
indignation which it would have excited in an 
honest soul, was to authorize the murder, to 
order its execution. Nevertheless, two years 
passed before the commission of the crime ; the 
prudence and activity of the cardinal had ren- 
dered abortive all the attempts directed against 
his life; but at the end of that time, George 
Wishart, starting as a preacher, had publicly 
sought to propagate the new doctrine ; he joined 
to impiety the spirit of revolt, and with the 
new gospel he preached insurrection. He was 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 37 

arrested, tried, and condemned, as seditious and 
heretical ; and from that time the death of the 
cardinal was sworn anew. Profiting by the 
negligence of the warder, the murderers entered, 
about daybreak, the Castle of St. Andrew's, where 
the cardinal was, and penetrating even to his 
chamber, there killed him. The assassins were 
sustained by the partisans of reform, and all to- 
gether demanded the protection of the King of 
England : this protection was granted them. 

The Scots had been comprised in the treaty 
of peace of June, 1546; but Henry would not 
subscribe to any other condition than to abstain 
from hostility so long as he was not attacked. 
On his side, the Earl of Arran previously exacted 
the remittal of the forts which the English occu- 
pied, and he moreover wished that the assassins 
of the cardinal should be delivered up to justice. 

After some fruitless negotiations, Arran be- 
sieged the murderers in St. Andrew's ; but at the 
commencement of the month of February, 1547, 
he was obliged to raise the siege, in order to pre- 
side over the assembly of the three orders of the 
nation. The death of Henry caused no change 
in the policy of the cabinet of St. James, and the 
Earl of Herfort, created Duke of Somerset and 
regent of the kingdom, under the title of PrO' 
4 



38 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

lector^ made two treaties with the murderers. In 
one, the latter engaged to do all in their power 
to speed the projected union of the Queen of 
Scotland and the infant King of England, and 
not to deliver up, under any pretext, possession 
of the castle without the written consent of the 
king and the protector. In the other they con- 
tracted the infamous obligation of joining the 
English army, which would enter Scotland to 
seize the person of Mary, and to deliver the 
castle to English commissioners, as soon as 
Mary should be in the power of Edward, and 
the marriage celebrated. 

These disloyal agreements were followed by 
their desired reward — pensions, largesses, gold ; 
gold, that agent of corruption, which, for so 
many ages, the worldly happy have used to re- 
ward treason, forgetfulness of duties, and bar- 
tered consciences. 

The governor was fortunately informed of the 
second treaty ; it was easy for him to divine the 
rest, and prepare to subvert the intentions of the 
protector, Somerset. He immediately published 
a proclamation, calling upon all loyal men to 
repair, within forty-eight hours, to a place indi- 
cated, with a month's provision. Scotland, said 
he, threatened with an invasion by her eternal 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 39 

enemy, appeals to all her children. For more 
security, the governor had recourse to the new 
King of France, Henry IL, in whose name were 
solemnly renewed the treaties of alliance existing 
between the two kingdoms ; moreover, prompt 
assistance in men and money was promised. 

The English lords, who resided upon the fron- 
tier, being animated by the hope of pillage, an- 
ticipated the preparing hostilities, and made 
many irruptions into Scotland. Ai'ran hastened 
with many troops ; he even proposed besieging 
Langhope and Cawmyllis, which would serve 
as exercise grounds and resting points for the 
aggressors, when he received the happy news 
that Strozzi, prior of Capua, had brought him 
several French galleys, laden with troops. A 
junction having been formed with these, the 
combined army invested the Castle of St. An- 
drew's. In a little time the French artillery 
opened a considerable breach, and the garrison, 
not wishing to be exposed to the consequences 
of an assault, surrendered on the sole condition 
of having their lives spared. The governor de- 
molished the entire fortification, in order that if, 
during the course of the war, the castle should 
refall into the hands of the English, they could 
not make of it a fortified position. 



40 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

In the interim, the regent did not forget the 
object of the treaties, and when he had concluded 
his preparations, which was in the month of 
August, he invaded Scotland with an army of 
twenty thousand men, whilst a fleet of twenty- 
four galleys, followed by as many transports, 
sailed along the coast without losing sight of 
the army on land. Arran made use of the sig- 
nals used by one clan* with another, designating 
Musselburg as the rendezvous; but so many 
came thither that the governor, whom this mul- 
titude would have embarrassed, selected only 
thirty thousand men, and dismissed all the others. 
He soon set out tx) arrest the progress of the 
enemy, and a rencounter of cavalry took place 
shortly after at Falside, in which there was noth- 
ing decisive. The next day, (September 10,) 
the governor having crossed the River Esk, the 
protector seized the neighboring eminence, called 
Pinkencleugh. This double movement caused 
a great battle, in which Fortune declared herself 
against the Scots. Victory had appeared at first 

The signals which were formerly used in Scotland to announce 
a hostile invasion consisted of two lighted torches, attached, in the 
form of a cross, to the end of a lance. At this signal every Scot was 
bound to hasten to arms to aid in repelling the aggression. A Scot- 
tish tribe was, and is still, designated by the name of clan. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 41 

in their favor, and the English cavalry had been 
routed ; but the Scottish Highlanders, pursuing 
them, were themselves soon attacked by fresh 
and veteran troops, who put them, in their turn, 
to complete rout. The victory was principally 
determined by a battery which Somerset had 
planted on an eminence, and, above all, by the 
artillery from the galleys. The Earl of Huntley, 
chancellor of Scotland, and Lords Yester and 
Wemyss were made prisoners. It is said the 
loss of the vanquished amounted to eight thou- 
sand men. 

The protector pursued his advantage ; he 
marched upon Leith, which he delivered up for 
four days to pillage ; he devastated all the sur- 
rounding villages ; and, after this singular exploit 
by a man who wished to gain the Scots to the 
cause of the King of England, he hastily retired, 
followed closely by the governor, who had rallied 
a body of cavalry. This precipitate retreat, after 
a brilliant victory, surprised the enemies of the 
English as much as it afflicted their partisans, 
who were exposed defenceless to the governor's 
resentment. Somerset was in no need of pro- 
visions ; the winter had not yet commenced ; and 
he could not fear the enemy whom he had over- 
come. What motive had he then in hurrying far 
4* 



42 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

away from the theatre of his glory ? Some be- 
lieve that, intoxicated with success, he wished to 
enjoy it before the people of London ; others are 
of the opinion, perhaps with more reason, that 
his authority had made many persons discon- 
tented, at whose head was his own brother, the 
lord admiral ; that their secret mancBUvres men- 
aced his power, and that he only retm-ned in order 
to subvert the plan of his enemies. 

The check received by the Scots did not ren- 
der them better disposed towards the English 
than they had previously been ; their antipathy, 
as might be expected, only increased, and the 
thought alone of the marriage of their queen with 
the odious King of England excited as violent 
murmurs in the thatched cots of the Highland- 
ers as in the hotels of Edinburgh. It is prob- 
able, however, that this marriage would have 
been really advantageous for Scotland ; but how 
change into sentiments of affection the inveter- 
ate hatred which the descendants of the Picts 
had always preserved towards the descendants 
of the Britons ? How wish that Scotland, which 
had so often fought for her independence, should 
become in a day an English province ? How 
think, above all, that the religion of the country 
— Scotland was yet Catholic — must be altered, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 43 

corrupted, annihilated, by contact with the im- 
pious doctrines of Henry VIII., aggravated still 
by young Edward ? It was not enough to de- 
liver to this prince the cherished person of their 
young queen ; it was necessary, besides, that the 
religion of the passions, created by Henry, should 
blemish the new and candid soul of Mary. 
These were thoughts which all the Scots ab- 
horred. 

Some, and especially the Earl of Huntley, de- 
scribed the ingenious method which the English 
put in practice to gain the hearts of the Scots — ' 
to make war with Scotland, pillage its cities, 
burn and devastate its lands, massacre its in- 
habitants ! Surely it was an entirely new mode 
of causing themselves to be beloved by the peo- 
ple ; and the protector should undoubtedly con- 
gratulate himself on the great advantages he 
gained by the victory. The Earl of Huntley was 
right, and the protector soon perceived that he 
had only added with his own hand insuperable 
obstacles to the obstacles which natural preju- 
dices opposed to him. 

Many Scottish lords, having assembled at Stir- 
ling, resolved to invoke the assistance of France, 
the ancient and faithful ally of Scotland. It 
was also resolved in this assembly to offer the 



44 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

dauphin the hand of the young Mary, upon whose 
infantine figure were akeady to be seen the deli- 
cate traits of beauty, in her words a touching 
grace, in her least actions all the goodness of a 
generous heart. They added, that, for greater 
security, it would be meet to send Mary to the 
court of France, where she would be educated 
under the eyes of the king and her uncles, the Duke 
of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine. (1547.) 

On his side, the protector, to repair the evil 
which he had performed on his vandalic expedi- 
tion to Leith, caused to be circulated through all 
parts of the kingdom a proclamation, in English 
and Latin, in which he imputed all the mis- 
fortunes of the war to the Earl of Arran and his 
associates. " Scots," said he, " to whom will 
you marry your young queen ? To a foreign 
prince? Your country will then become de- 
pendent on this foreign prince ; you will append 
it to his crown. Will you give her to one of 
your peers ? Alas ! you will perpetuate the old 
quarrel which divides our two kingdoms. For 
eight ages no occasion so favorable as the present 
one has offered to crush forever the germ of our 
divisions. Your young queen and our young 
king, by uniting their crowns, would preserve to 
Scotland her laws and liberties : the Scots and 



LIFE OP MARY STUART. 45 

Eaglish would be henceforth but one people, 
under the common name of Britons, and there 
would arise for both a new era of happiness." 

Confiding little in the power of his eloquence, 
the protector committed the same fault he had 
already committed; he wished to sustain his 
proclamation by arms, and Lord Gray arrived, 
followed by a powerful army. The city of Dal- 
keith was reduced to ashes ; that of Haddington 
was garrisoned by soldiers, who were principally 
English and Italians. At the moment when 
Lord Gray was preparing to return to England, 
a French squadron anchored at Leith, bringing 
two thousand French and three thousand Ger- 
man veterans, commanded by the brave D'Esse. 
Arran joined him with eight thousand men, and 
the siege of Haddington was" soon undertaken and 
vigorously carried on. Nevertheless, although 
the breach was already practicable, D'Esse did 
not wish to assault the place, lest the Scots, yet 
little inured to discipline, would lose courage in 
case of evil success; and he preferred turning 
the siege into a blockade — a more protracted but 
surer means of reducing the place. 

Whilst the blockade lasted, Arran had con- 
voked the estates of the kingdom in a monastery 



46 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

adjacent to the city. The decision which the 
lords had taken at Stirling was then fully con- 
firmed, and a treaty of alliance exchanged be- 
tween the governor and the French ambassador. 
Des soles, Labrosse, and Villegagnon, the com- 
manders of the squadron, soon set sail with a 
fair wind, in a southern direction, as if to return 
directly to France ; but when fairly at sea, and 
out of sight of land, suddenly changing their 
course to the north, they proceed to Dumbarton, 
received on board the queen and all her house- 
hold,* and after a short voyage, arrived without 
accident at the port of Brest. (1548.) From this 
city, where she was received with the acclama- 
tion of the inhabitants, Mary was conducted to 
St. Germain en Laye, where the king received 
her as a cherished and long-expected daughter. 
Henry IL, forgetting or neglecting the advice of 
his father, who feared the ambition of the princes 
of Lorraine, and had recommended him to re- 
move them from power, had placed his confidence 

* The queen was accompanied by four young girls of her own age, 
who all bore the same name as their mistress, and are called the 
queen's Maries. They were, Mary Beaton, niece of Cardinal Bea- 
ton, Mary Fleming, daughter of Lord Fleming, Mary Livingstone, 
daughter of one of the queen's guardians, and Mary Seaton, daugh- 
ter of Lord Seaton, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 47 

in the Duke and Cardinal of Guise,* uncles 
of the young Mary; and they — although they 
had no particular affection for the young Queen 
of Scotland, whom they had never seen — ear- 
nestly desired that she would espouse the dau- 
phin, because they hoped that she would one day 
be in their hands a docile instrument, of whom 
they expected to make use in directing her hus- 
band, if he ascended the throne. They obtained 
from the king the formal renewal of the promise 
made to their sister, the queen dowager of Scot- 
land, that the marriage of Mary and the dauphin 
should take place when they arrived at the proper 
age : meanwhile, they were betrothed with much 
pomp. 

* Charles, known later as the Cardinal of Lorraine, and then 
called Guise, because the old cardinal of Lorraine, his nncle, still 
lived. 



48 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



CHAPTER 11. 

CONTINUATION OF TROUBLES. — REIGX AND DEATH OF MARY OP 
ENGLAND. — ELIZABETH. — PEACE OP CATEAU CAMBRESIS. — 
MARRIAGE OF MARY STUART. 

It was evident that Mary's departure for 
France removed from the English every pretext 
for continuing the war in Scotland. Henry II. 
declared, besides, to the cabinet of St. James, that, 
as father and father-in-law of the King and 
Queen of Scotland, he would oppose any act of 
hostility on the part of England to that king- 
dom ; he consequently required the protector to 
abstain therefrom during the minority of the be- 
trothed. Somerset returned a refusal to the 
French ambassador ; and to show that he firmly 
intended to achieve what he had commenced, 
being irritated besides by the loss of a convoy 
charged with revictualling Haddington, he sent 
Shrewsbury into Scotland with an army of 
twenty-two thousand men. D'Esse, who had 
too few forces to resist, immediately raised the 
siege ; but he intrenched himself so well in an 
advantageous position, that Shrewsbury durst 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 49 

not attack him. The English general brought, 
it is true, some assistance to the place ; but it 
was only adding a new sacrifice to losses already 
experienced, for, a little while after, Haddington 
was obliged to surrender ; the forts of Home 
Castle and Fast Castle also opened their gates, 
and the Scots, in their turn crossing the borders, 
penetrated even to Newcastle, and repaid the 
English for the evil inflicted on them, by burn- 
ing twenty villages. D'Esse afterwards departed 
for France, leaving the command to Marshal 
Termes, who had brought a reenforcement of 
thirteen hundred men. The new general pur- 
sued the policy of his predecessor, hazarded 
nothing, fatigued the English, and destroyed all 
the ascendency which their former successes had 
given them. England was, besides, delivered up 
to intestine dissensions, which threatened the 
existence of its present government ; so that the 
protector, obliged to watch around himself to 
overthrow the hostile plots of his own brother, 
Seymour, could devote but little attention to 
Scotland, which was less disposed than ever to 
submit to the yoke. (1549.) 

Henry II., declaring war in the interim, re- 
doubled the protector's embarrassment. It is 
pretended that he had proposed to the council 
5 



50 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

regent to make peace with Scotland, to surrender 
Boulogne to the King of France for a pecuniary- 
indemnification, to contract with that prince a 
treaty of alliance, having for its object the assist- 
ance of the Protestants in Germany, and thus 
oppose a barrier to the grasping power of the 
emperor. But the majority of the council reso- 
lutely opposed the protector. To return the city 
of Boulogne to the King of France, said they, 
is to wish England's humiliation and the dis- 
grace of the king's government. It would be 
much better to intrust that fortress — if they did 
not wish to guard it — to the emperor, and offer 
the crown of Scotland to the Earl of Arran ; 
France would then cease to threaten Great 
Britain, and the king would at least have time 
to prepare all his resources. But the emperor 
would not accept the gift which they offered 
him ; he perceived that it would be difficult to 
maintain it without the assistance of English 
vessels, which would have cramped his policy 
and wounded his pride; besides, he had con- 
cluded a treaty of peace with Henry II., and, 
although he scrupled little breaking his faith 
when his interest required it, he desired in this 
case to appear faithful to his contracts. 

On the other hand, Hemy, offended by the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 51 

haughty response of Somerset to his ambassador, 
sent a considerable army into the Boulonnais, 
and soon followed in person with more troops, 
ruined all the fortifications erected by the Eng- 
lish before the city on the land side, and block- 
aded the city itself very carefully, expecting that 
the want of provisions would oblige the garrison 
to surrender before the end of winter. Thus it 
would cost neither money nor soldiers to restore 
the place to the ancient domain. Henry expected 
that inability, or the troubles which agitated Eng- 
land, would prevent the protector from assisting 
the garrison of Boulogne. 

These troubles were caused by the jealousy 
with which the protector inspired the Earl of 
Warwick and his friends, by the almost unlim- 
ited extent of power he had arrogated to himself, 
and which he had confirmed with the blood of 
his own brother, shed by the hand of the execu- 
tioner. They resulted in the overthrow of this 
despotic authority ; Somerset was arrested, con- 
ducted to the Tower, tried by Parliament, de- 
prived of all his offices, and his life was only 
spared because he was the king's uncle. His 
property was divided between the principal con- 
spirators ; but then happened what almost al- 
ways happens when rivals in power supplant 



52 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

each other : the last comers follow the route 
which they find traced, imitate the policy which 
they condemned in their predecessors, and thus 
prepare troubles for themselves from men, who, 
after having them a day dismissed from their 
post, only continue their work. They had con- 
sidered it a crime in Somerset to have counselled 
the abandonment of Boulogne and peace with 
Scotland, and these were the first administrative 
acts of Warwick and his associates. They 
alleged that the garrison of Boulogne was in 
need of ammunition and provisions, and that 
the treasury was drained ; that the emperor had 
made a special peace, and that the whole weight 
of the war would fall upon Great Britain. Prop- 
ositions were at first indirectly made on the part 
of the cabinet of St. James, through the inter- 
position of a Florentine merchant, named An- 
tonio Guidotti. He commenced by proposing 
the pure and simple abandonment of Boulogne, 
provided the Queen of Scotland would marry 
King Edward. This proposition was disdain- 
fully rejected ; it was answered that Mary was 
already betrothed to the dauphin. Afterwards 
Guidotti demanded the payment of the pension 
which Henry VIII. had obtained from Francis I., 
and the arrears of that pension. " What ! " was 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 53 

exclaimed in the French council, " are we then 
never to conclude a war with England but with 
money? "Will then neither arms nor arms — 
ni armes ni bras — avail us ? " The answer 
made to the second proposition served only to 
inflame their resentment. Never, said they, will 
the King of France condescend to pay tribute 
to a foreign power. When Henry VIII. was 
promised a pension, or rather, said they, when he 
extorted it, he availed himself of the temporary 
necessity of Francis I. ; Henry II. would now, 
in his turn, profit by Edward's embarrassment to 
constrain him to renounce it. The English plen- 
ipotentiaries then threatened to terminate the 
conference ; but the French, who perceived their 
superiority, desired to dictate, and did in fact 
dictate, the terms of the treaty. (24th of March, 
1550.) 

It was agreed that there be peace and per- 
petual union between the two powers ; that 
Boulogne be restored to the King of France, 
with aU the materiel which was found in it at 
the time of its capture ; that as remuneration 
for the fortifications which the English had 
added to it, Henry II. should pay two hundred 
thousand crowns at the time of its delivery, and 
a like sum five months thereafter ; that Dunglass 
5* 



54 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and Lauder be restored to the Queen of Scot- 
land, and in case these two fortresses were not 
in thek possession, the English should raze those 
of Roxburgh and Aymouth ; that Scotland be 
comprised in the treaty, if the queen's govern- 
ment signified their acceptance within forty days 
from its signature ; that the pretensions or claims 
of England against Scotland and France, as 
well as those of France and Scotland against 
England, be mutually reserved. 

The English, who, in their treaties with 
France, always opposed all conditions not on- 
erous for the latter, as if they were plaintiffs for 
an established wrong, regarded that of the 24th 
of March as a truly national calamity. They 
could not bear the thought of the reduction to 
the fifth of the sum of two millions offered by 
the predecessor of Henry 11. for the evacuation ; 
they were indignant at having renounced the 
marriage of Edward and Mary of Scotland ; 
and they regretted this pension which Henry had 
demanded and obtained, to abandon his preten- 
sions to the crown of France, for they regarded 
as mere form, and of no real weight, the reser- 
vation of reciprocal rights which terminated the 
treaty. 

If the English murmured, the orthodox Scots, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 55 

on their side, returned thanks to Providence for 
having deigned to preserve their young queen 
from this unlucky union, wherein example would 
not have failed to corrupt her faith by the ascen- 
dency which the fanatic Edward would have 
necessarily had over her. We say orthodox 
Scots, for the new doctrines had already pene- 
trated into Scotland ; and those who believed in 
preserving in its primitive purity the faith of 
their ancestors, were unaware that Henry's young 
son impelled even to frenzy his religious en- 
thusiasm for the creation of his father. He even 
persecuted his own sister, the Princess Mary, 
daughter of the unfortunate infanta of Spain, 
who had educated her in the religion professed 
by herself. Mary, being tormented by her broth- 
er's agents, and unprotected, had secretly applied 
to the emperor.* As the English government 
had need of the emperor's alliance at that time, 
to keep up appearances in France, Mary was 
allowed to enjoy a little liberty of conscience, 
although the ambassadors of Charles obtained 
it with difficulty. But after the treaty of peace 
of the 24th of March had rendered the friend- 

* Charles V. was cousin german of Mary, the infanta Catharine 
being the sister of Jane, who married the Archduke Philip, father 
of Charles V. 



56 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

ship of the emperor less necessary, the persecu- 
tion of the Princess Mary recommenced, and 
messages from the council and letters from her 
brother rapidly followed ; he, in his proselytic 
zeal, pretended to have more authority in re- 
ligious matters than his father had had, and 
added, that his sincere piety, and the affection 
he bore his sister, did not allow him to leave het 
without the means of salvation ; he offered to 
send her teachers who might dissipate her igno- 
rance and cause her to recognize her errors. All 
that Mary could say was useless ; the formal de- 
mand which the Austrian ambassador made in 
her favor met with a decided refusal ; and as it 
was rumored that Mary intended to quit the 
kingdom, a fleet was equipped to intercept her. 
Two of her chaplains, being judicially prose- 
cuted, were violently withdrawn from her, and 
she was obliged to be present at conferences with 
the pretended doctors of her brother. She was 
contented with replying, " My soul is God's, and 
nothing will destroy the faith in my heart." The 
next day the Austrian ambassador declared per- 
emptorily that if the promises made to Mary 
were violated, his master would assist her by 
force of arms. 

This explicit declaration perplexed the ortho- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 67 

doxy of the council. English merchants had 
vessels, merchandise, and considerable sums of 
money in the emperor's dominions ; the govern- 
ment itself had in Flanders depots of powder 
and military equipments ; a declaration of war 
would cause them to lose all. "Was not this pur- 
chasing a conversion at too high a price ? But 
the conscience of the demoniac Edward was so 
scrupulous that it would yield to no concession ; 
to allow his sister to remain in idolatry/ was of 
itself to persist in mortal sin to his damnation. 
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops 
of London and Rochester employed all their art 
to prove to him that, although it was a sin to 
tolerate sin, this tolerance was, however, pardon- 
able when all that it was possible to do had been 
done. Edward reluctantly submitted to the de- 
cision of the grave doctors ; but he shed abundant 
tears on considering that his beloved sister would 
voluntarily lose her soul by obstinately remain- 
ing in the Catholic religion ; it grieved him that 
he was not allowed to convert her nolens volens, 
as had been his intention. 

The three prelates, and the members of the 
council, very orthodox in their heresy, had prob- 
ably some remorse for the advice they had given 
the king. In truth, they only wished to tern- 



58 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

porize ; for orders were given that every thing in 
the Flemish magazines should be removed, and 
secret notices were circulated amongst the trade 
that each one might effect the getting in of his 
funds or merchandise. Meanwhile the ambas- 
sador was informed that the king would send 
his answer to the emperor by a special envoy. 
Edward, in fact, sent Dr. Wotton, who endeav- 
ored by adroit sophisms to persuade the emperor 
that the new religion adopted by England was 
only the Catholic religion reduced to its first 
principles ; in a word, the religion of the apostles. 
The council was fully persuaded that Wotton 
would not convince any one ; but the discussion 
would gain time, which was all they desired. 

Whilst this was passing at the court of Vien- 
na, the council redoubled its eiforts with Mary ; 
and this princess, whom Protestant writers have 
painted in the blackest colors, always repelled 
with as much firmness as nobility their perfidious 
insinuations, entreaties, and threats.* The Scots 

* Many of Maiy's letters, vrrittea to her brother, are extant. 
" Give me leave," she says, " to vrrite what I think touching your 
majesty's letters. Indeed they be signed with your own hand ; and 
nevertheless, in my opinion, not your majesty's in effect. Because 
it is weU known, that although (our Lord be praised) your majesty 
hath far more knowledge and greater gifts than any other of your 
years, yet it is not possible that your highness can be judge in 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 59 

were not ignorant of all these vile manoeuvres em- 
ployed against an unprotected princess to per- 
vert her ; and the more odious they appeared, the 
more they applauded the measures taken to with- 
draw their young queen from danger. Edward 
had not yet renounced all hopes of obtaining 
Mary Stuart. The protector, Somerset, whom a 
court intrigue had removed from power, had 
wished to resume his ascendency over the king, 
who appeared to notice with interest his third 
daughter, Lady Anne Seymour. He offered her 
his hand, but the Earl of Warwick and his 
friends defeated the project by proposing, through 
the council, to demand for their sovereign the 
hand of a French princess. 

A brilliant embassy, at the head of which was 
the Marquis of Northampton, proceeded to France, 
about the middle of the summer, to invest the 

matters of religion. And therefore I take it, that the matter in 
your letter proceedeth from such as do wish those things to take 
place which be most agreeable to themselves ; by whose doings 
(your majesty not offended) I intend not to rule my conscience ! " 
When they wished to compel her chaplains to use the new liturgy, 
they declared, after having consulted her, that they would rather suf- 
fer any thing than act against their conscience ; but a short time 
after, having promised obedience, Mary, being urged anew, replied, 
as a religious Christian, that, rather than suffer the least change in 
the tenets or practice of the religion she professed, she would lay her 
head upon the block. 



60 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

king with the order of the garter, and to demand 
of him a spouse for the King of England. North- 
ampton at first named Mary Stuart, and received 
a positive refusal. He afterwards named the 
Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Henry ; 
and without making a positive engagement^ 
Henry acceded to the request, which was, how- 
ever, postponed until Elizabeth should have com- 
pleted her twelfth year. 

The queen dowager of Scotland was then in 
France. On her return, she landed at Ports- 
mouth, whence she prayed the King of England 
to allow her to continue her journey by land, 
which was immediately granted. Orders were 
at the same time given that she should be re- 
ceived every where with the greatest honor. The 
king invited her to pass through London, where 
he received her with great marks of affection and 
respect. The queen was equally respectful ; but 
she persisted no less in her intention not to receive 
him for a son-in-law. 

Meanwhile the health of the king became more 
and more enfeebled, (1553 ;) it was foreseen that 
his death would be a fruitful cause of troubles, 
because the crown had many aspirants, and the 
nearest heirs, such as Henry's two daughters, 
might be set aside on account of religion or ille- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 61 

gitimacy. The ambitious Northumberland, who, 
since the fall of Somerset, enjoyed all the favor 
of Edward, — Northumberland, the richest and 
most powerful of the English lords, — feared not 
to aspire to the supreme power, not for himself, it 
is true, but for his son Dudley, to whom had 
been married, with the king's approbation. Lady 
Jane Gray, granddaughter of Mary, the sister of 
Henry VIIL* The will of the latter, and an act 
of Parliament besides, had declared Mary and 
Elizabeth presumptive heirs ; but the ancient 
statutes declaring them illegitimate had not been 
repealed, and it was presumed that such illegiti- 
macy might be successfully opposed in bar of 
their claim. These two princesses discarded, the 
crown would revert to the sisters of Henry VHL, 
Margaret, widow of James V., King of Scotland, 
and Mary, widow of Louis XIL, King of France ; 
but the antipathy of the English for the Scots 
sufficed to cause the Scottish line to be excluded : 
there remained then only the- descendants of 
Mary. But Mary had only a daughter, Frances, 
wife of Lord Gray ; and she consented to yield 
all her right to her eldest daughter. Lady Jane. 

* rt was this Mary who married Louis XII. some months before 
his death, when she married the Duke of Suffolk, who had loved her 
prior to her first marriage. 

6 



62 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Northumberland had no difficulty in obtaining 
from the king an act disinheriting his two sisters ; 
he had only to represent to him that if Mary 
ascended the throne she would surely destroy 
the new religion; against Elizabeth he alleged 
the blemish of illegitimacy. Provided with this 
important document, Northumberland assembled 
the council in order to have it ratified, and at 
first met with an obstinate resistance. Many 
members explained the reason of their opposition 
before the king himself; but influenced by the 
threats and promises of Northumberland, all 
finally ratified the will of the king, who died in 
a few days after. (6th of July.) 

His death had been expected for a long time, 
and all the parties were present when it occurred ; 
yet Northumberland and his friends kept it secret 
for two or three days, so as to have time to pre- 
pare for their success. They were encouraged 
by the French ambassador, Noailles, who made 
them hope for the assistance of his master. In 
fact, France did not desire that Mary should 
ascend the throne, for she only acted by the 
advice of the emperor; and they feared, with 
some reason, that he would make her accept of 
his son for a husband, which would augment the 
power of Austria, already influencing Germany 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 63 

and the Peninsula. On his side, the emperor's 
ambassador sustained, with all his power, the 
interests of Mary. Catholics and Protestants 
naturally joined the two parties, which were 
divided into two factions, that of Northumber- 
land, or Jane Gray, and that of Elizabeth. 

This is not the place to describe the interest- 
ing events which took place in London — the 
elevation and fall of the unfortunate Jane, the 
accession of Mary, her marriage, the conspira- 
cies which shook her throne, and the part she 
took in the war which Philip II. made against 
France. We will only say, that the loss of the 
battle of St. Quintin's, (1557,) where ten thou- 
sand English were enrolled in the ranks of the 
Spanish armyj had some influence upon the lot 
of Mary Stuart, whose marriage, for a long time 
postponed, but until now retarded by the extreme 
youth of the future bridegroom, was fixed for an 
approaching period. Henry wished to interest 
the Scots in his cause, by whom England would 
be kept busy whilst he would resist the King of 
Spain and the emperor in Flanders and Italy. 

Hardly had the Scots learned that Mary had 
declared war with France, than, feeling their 
former hatred revive, they flew to arms. The 
regent and the queen dowager profited by this 



64 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

national movement to render popular the idea 
of making the greatest efforts for France ; never- 
theless, this enthusiasm was not sustained. En- 
gagements took place on the frontier; but the 
secret partisans of England soon represented that 
the war which had been commenced was for a 
cause entirely foreign to Scotland, and that they 
were exposing the welfare of the country without 
any adequate cause. These arguments, passing 
from mouth to mouth, gradually cooled their 
spirits, and the army disbanded. Thus, said 
Lord Shrewsbury in his governmental report, this 
enterprise, begun with so much bravery, ended 
in dishonor and shame. 

But when the Scots were aware that their be- 
trothed queen was about to become a spouse, 
that every thing was prepared for the august 
ceremony, that many Scottish lords, who were 
invited to be present, had already departed, 
that the Queen of Scotland would become dau- 
phiness of France, and the dauphin of France 
sovereign of Scotland, thoughts of alliance and 
devotedness were reawakened ; to serve France 
was to serve the queen and their country. On 
the other hand, they were not ignorant that the 
Queen of England had much difficulty in re- 
straining the discontented in her own kingdom, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 65 

and that, engaged in war with France to please 
her husband, she could not carry on a war in 
Scotland with much vigor; this presumption 
was soon changed into certainty. 

Whilst the Constable Montmorency, an old 
general, was defeated at St. Quintin's, for not 
heeding the advice of the Prince of Conde, a 
young warrior, the Duke of Guise, Mary's uncle, 
forced the Spaniards in Italy to grant Pope Paul 
IV. an advantageous peace. The disaster of 
St. Quintin's caused Guise to be recalled ; who, 
on arriving, received the title of generalissimo. 
The soldiers received him with transports of joy; 
they remembered that Guise, with a handful of 
brave soldiers, had defended Metz, when almost 
dismantled, against the emperor commanding in 
person an army of one hundred thousand men, 
and that he had obliged them to raise the siege 
shamefully. With Guise at their head, the troops 
believed themselves invincible ; and he promised 
to lead them to the enemy in a short time. 

For more than two ages Calais had been in 
the possession of the English, and was believed 
to be impregnable. It had on one side the sea, 
on the other a morass ; the narrow way which 
united it to the continent through the morass 
was intersected by ditches, and provided with 
6* 



66 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

forts. It appeared impossible to approach it, 
and the English reckoned so well upon the ob- 
stacles which nature opposed to a land attack, 
that they had made of the city a vast commercial 
magazine, as well as a depot for arms, ammu- 
nition, and artillery. It was this impregnable 
place of which Guise undertook the conquest. 
It should be stated that Senarpont, the governor 
of Boulogne, having had several occasions to re- 
pair to Calais, had attentively examined the for- 
tifications of the city, and had drawn a very 
correct plan of them, though made at intervals. 
It was known, besides, that as winter approached, 
the English diminished their garrison, through 
motives of economy. Admiral Coligni, it is said, 
first suggested profiting by this secrndty of the 
English, who, during the middle of winter, least 
anticipated an attack. " It is," said he, " in the 
middle of winter that Calais must be surprised." 
Guise followed this wise advice, and happily 
executed the project. Twenty-five thousand vet- 
erans, followed by a considerable train of artillery, 
left Compiegne on the 1st of January, 1558, and 
proceeded towards St. Quintin's. Having gone 
some distance, the army, suddenly changing its 
direction, proceeded to Calais by forced marches. 
In six days the advanced works, the castle, the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 67 

port, the city, were in the power of the French. 
On the 20th of the same month, the place of 
Guisnes capitulated, and the castle of Ham was 
evacuated ; and on the 22d the whole canton, 
forming the county of Oye, submitted to the lot 
of Guisnes and Calais. 

This little region was well cultivated, and 
covered with cattle ; the city yielded immense 
booty. The artillery and ammunition became 
the property of the government ; precious mova- 
bles — gold, silver, and jewels — were distributed 
among the officers and soldiers. Guise kept 
nothing for himself, but he received in return 
from a part of the army increased affection and 
devotedness. 

The news of the loss of Calais resounded at 
London like a thunder clap, and the entire popu- 
lation remained stupefied. To mitigate a little 
the public grief, the ministry ordered Lord Went- 
worth, governor of Calais, and many officers of 
the garrison, to appear before a council of war ; 
but regret was not less smarting than universal. 
On seeing the consternation which reigned in 
London, one would have said that the enemy 
was at the gates of the capital. Queen Mary, 
whose already languishing health foreboded her 
end near, said, upon her death bed, that if her 



68 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

chest were opened, the word Calais would be 
found engraven on her heart. The King of 
Spain, to whom this disaster was attributed, 
since he had obliged the queen, his wife, to de- 
clare war against France without any necessity, 
offered troops to Parliament ; but they mistrusted 
his sincerity, being convinced that he only wished 
to retake Calais to keep it for himself They 
were contented with equipping vessels to cruise 
upon the French coast, and endeavor to surprise 
some of their ports, so as to indemnify them- 
selves for the loss of the lamented Calais. 

Whilst this event increased the hatred of the 
English against France, the French, particularly 
the Parisians, celebrated the triumph of their 
favorite general by fetes and public rejoicings. 
The king and all his court desired to take part, 
and the former even announced to the mayor of 
Paris that he would sup on Shrove Thursday at 
the Hotel de Ville. Every thing was immediately 
prepared to receive such a guest worthily. The 
floor of the hall was covered with mats, at that 
time a luxury ; branches of ivy and garlands 
adorned the ceiling ; and the walls were richly 
hung with silk stuffs, upon which were seen the es- 
cutcheons of the king, queen. Guise, and — what 
must have appeared astonishing — the Duchess 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 69 

of Valentinois. Twenty-five ladies, the wives 
or daughters of the principal magistrates, were 
selected to escort the royal family, and twenty- 
five young men, all of whom were clad in silk, 
and belonged to the principal families of the cit- 
izens, waited at table. 

After the supper, where some disorder was 
caused by the crowd pressing into the hall to see 
the king and his family, it was desired, to have 
the poet Jodelle's lyric tragedy of Orpheus per- 
formed ; but the assistants had invaded the 
theatre in such a manner that the actors could 
not perform for want of room. " It was," says 
Brantome, " a tragi-comedy, in which music, 
dancing, and decorations were combined to 
words — a thing never before seen in France, for 
previously the buffoons and players of Bazoche 
were only spoken of. These beautiful pleasan- 
tries and fine comedies had been invented and 
performed in Italy not long before." Catharine 
de' Medici introduced them in France. The 
ball immediately replaced Orpheus^ the perform- 
ance of which was postponed to another day. 
This fete may be called brilliant for the epoch at 
which it was given. The art of rendering luxury 
elegant, and thus augmenting enjoyment, that is, 
of employing with exquisite taste the resources 



70 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

which riches offer, did not yet exist ; but all that 
was then esteemed — gold, silver, and jewels — 
had been lavished in adorning the hall and add- 
ing splendor to dress. 

Catharine de' Medici, surrounded by her maids 
of honor, animated the dancers by her presence. 
For a long time disdained by courtiers, who 
mete out their esteem or deference by the affec- 
tion of their lord, Catharine, by art, intrigue, and 
complaisance, finally triumphed over the aversion 
which the king had for her ; and although he did 
not show her the tenderness which she might 
expect as a wife, she exercised considerable au- 
thority in the administration of affairs, which 
was what she desired ; for she always had more 
ambition than attachment for the person of her 
husband. The Duchess of Valentinois, that 
famous Diana of Poitiers, who, after having 
reigned over the heart of Francis I., exercised the 
same empire over that of Henry, was not far from 
the queen ; and the queen, who detested her, but 
who was a profound dissembler, loaded her with 
testimonials of her good will. But at the side of 
Catharine was noticed a young princess, upon 
whom Nature had strewn all her gifts — grace, 
Deauty, an elegant figure, noble gait, majestic 
carriage, an expression in all her features, a 



\ 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 71 

sweet and bold look, which at once commanded 
love and respect ; she also attracted all eyes, and 
the murmur of admiration which arose around 
her would have informed her of the sentiments 
she created, had presumption and vanity had 
access to her heart ; but Mary Stuart had all the 
innocence of youth, the candor of sixteen, and 
she remarked not the mute homage which Hen- 
ry's courtiers paid her. 

May Heaven preserve her in this happy igno- 
rance, in order that in the midst of a dissolute 
court, where corruption takes no pains to cover 
itself with a mask, she may preserve the virtuous 
principles which have been inculcated to her ! 
Mary's uncles neither loved nor esteemed Catha- 
rine de' Medici, and they took care not to confide 
the education of their niece to her. On her ar- 
rival in France, she had been placed by them in 
an institution where she found excellent masters, 
who, successfully developing the beautiful quali- 
ties of her heart and mind, returned her to her 
uncles as virtuous and modest as she was bril- 
liant. It is said that when scarcely ten years of 
age she pronounced before the king. Cardinal 
Lorraine, and many lords, a short Latin discourse, 
of her own composition, upon the advantages 
of instruction ; and in an age when the lords 



72 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

were not devoted to science, the young Queen 
of Scotland passed justly for a prodigy. 

Meanwhile the Duke of Guise came to Paris 
to enjoy his triumph and assist at the marriage 
of his niece. This marriage, which was eagerly 
desired by the house of Lorraine, was the reward 
reserved for the conqueror of Calais and the de- 
fender of Metz. Mary Stuart had not yet com- 
pleted her sixteenth year, and the dauphin was 
about the same age ; unfortunately, the feeble 
and languishing health of the latter foretold an 
early end. 

The ceremony took place (24th April, 1558) in 
the church of Our Lady of Paris, {Notre Dame.) 
The duke performed the functions of grand 
master of the king's household, instead of the 
Constable of Montmorency, then a Spanish pris- 
oner. This excited the jealousy of the latter, for 
he feared that Guise would engross the king's 
favor ; and the Spaniards, who partly shared his 
fears on account of the result which would have 
followed the royal favor being concentrated upon 
the uncle of the dauphin, permitted the constable 
to return to France on his parole of honor. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 73 



CHAPTER III. 

HATRED OP ELIZABETH TO MARY. — HER APOSTASY. — DEATH OF 
HENRY II. — ACCESSION OF THE DAUPHIN AND MARY. 

The queen dowager of Scotland had not been 
present at the marriage of her daughter, cares of 
government not permitting her to absent herself. 
The reformers were addicted to the greatest ex- 
cesses, and unfortunately she could only oppose 
to them prudence and sweetness ; for they had 
strength because they comprised a great part of 
the people, and the most powerful lords of the 
kingdom had embraced their doctrines. For 
some years, the highest dignities in the church 
and the richest benefices were held by illegit- 
imate * children of the sovereign, or by members 
of great houses, alike destitute of learning, in- 
clined to debauch, having all the vices of the 

* It may be proper to observe, that these commendatory abbots and 
priors received the income, but interfered not with the domestic econ- 
omy, of the monasteries. Though they seldom took orders, they 
ranked as clergymen, and by their vices contributed to cover the pro- 
fession with odium. Patly enough, they became converts to the new 
doctrines, thus securing to themselves and their heirs the lands of 
their benefices, or an equivalent. 

7 



74 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

class to which they belonged, and little embar- 
rassed by the manners and instruction of their 
inferiors. The pride of these high dignitaries, 
their negligence in fulfilling their duties, the ex- 
treme rigor with which they insisted on the re- 
ceipt of their revenues, were for the people 
continual subjects for murmurs ; the propagators 
of new doctrines had only to declaim against 
the vices and oppression of the clergy to make 
numerous proselytes. Prelates became alarmed, 
and the Earl of Arran, then regent or governor 
of the kingdom, recalled the ancient statutes of 
Scotland against abettors or preachers of heret- 
ical doctrines, and added new penalties to them ; 
but when the queen mother became regent, the 
reformers respired ; the lords who favored them 
were of the queen's party, and all were of the 
opinion that tolerance should be used, if only to 
show herself grateful. The return from Geneva 
of John Knox,* the most fiery partisan of reform, 

* " Knox was an apostate priest, and his whole conduct illustrates 
that observation which the experience of ages has converted into a 
maxim— Ownjs apostata osoi' acerrimus sui ordinis, (Every apos- 
tate is the bitterest hater of the order from which he has apostatized.) 
Joined with the bitterness of the apostate, he had also the cunning of 
the tactician. When asked to show the lawfulness of his vocation, he 
said with a knowing leer, * Buf ! buf ! man, as we are once entered 
here, let us see who will put us out again.' " — Walter 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 75 

caused the zeal of his friends to take a more 
rapid flight. This man, says Dr. Lingard, who 
joined to the enthusiasm of an apostle great se- 
verity of manner and a rude but commanding 
eloquence, suggested that an assembly of all the 
reformers should be held ; and through his influ- 
ence a covenant was prepared, by which all the 
signers bound themselves to renounce forever 
the Roman communion, and maintain the pure 
doctrine of the gospel^ or, rather, what, in their 
deplorable error, they regarded as this doctrine. 

Knox did not, indeed, seek after the glory of a 
martyr, but prudently returned to Geneva, whence 
he issued letters, notices, exhortations, and remon- 
strances. One thing he earnestly inculcated — 
the distinction between civil and religious obe- 
dience. The former was due in civil mat- 
ters to the civil magistrate ; the latter to God 
alone : whence he drew this important inference, 
that, in defiance of the legislature and the sov- 
ereign, it was their duty to extirpate idolatry 
wherever they found it, to establish the gospel, 
and, in defence of their proceedings, to oppose 
force to force. These principles, which made 
the insurrection a holy duty^ found many follow- 
ers, — for the number of those whom the empire 
of the laws restrains is always very great, — 



76 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and produced the anticipated results. In an in- 
finite number of cities and little towns, the pre- 
tended disciples of the gospel expelled priests, 
threw down monasteries, and delivered images, 
sacerdotal ornaments, often the churches them- 
selves, to the flames. 

The queen mother saw with grief all these 
disturbances, but durst not punish the authors 
of them, lest, should a struggle take place be- 
tween reform and the royal power, the former 
would not succumb. She wished beside to ap- 
pear condescending to the lords of the party, 
since the question of her daughter's marriage 
was submitted to Parliament, and they had great 
influence in it. She hoped that, her daughter 
once received into the royal family of France, 
the king would send assistance of every kind ; 
she flattered herself with the idea of soon seeing 
in Scotland a French army, commanded perhaps 
by her brother, when it would be easy for her to 
humble the reformers, and restore the Scots to 
the worship of thek fathers. Parliament grati- 
fied the queen's desire : not only did it approve 
of Mary's union with the dauphin, but it also 
named a deputation to assist at the ceremony. 
It was in the presence of these deputies that, 
after having received the nuptial benediction, the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 77 

young queen bestowed upon her spouse the crown 
matrimonial, and saluted him as King-Dauphin.* 
The King of France, in his turn, styled Mary 
Dauphiness of France and Queen of England^ 
Ireland^ and Scotland. 

When, after the death of Mary of England, 
(November, 1558,) her sister Elizabeth ascended 
the throne, she had received the title of Queen 
of England and of France. This was the more 
ridiculous, as she inherited her pretended right 
from Edward III. or Henry V. But Edward 
was the grandson, by his mother Isabel, of Philip 
the Fair ; and yet the question debated between 
him and Philip of Valois was adjudged in favor 
of the latter, through a just or erroneous appli- 
cation of the Salic law.f The second had been 

* According to Scottish custom, if the queen married, her spouse 
was entitled the queen's husband, but he was not king. Neverthe- 
less, if the queen wished him to reign with her, she proclaimed him 
king in the presence of Parliament, which was called giving the 
crown matrimonial. It should be remarked, however, that the king 
could not transfer his crown to children by a second wife, although 
he continued to reign after the death of the first. 

t We have never believed that the Salic law was originally applied 
to the succession of the throne. This law contained a clause ex- 
cluding daughters from a share in the Salic lands, by which were 
designated the lands taken from enemies and distributed by the leader 
among his vassals, (leudes.) These grants were made under various 
conditions, one of which — the most essential — consisted in- being 

obliged to follow the king to war. But this service could not be per- 

n * 



78 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

crowned, it is true, at Paris, but only by a faction J 
and the king of a faction is not the king of a state. 
He had of himself no right to the crown of France ; 
he had no more in the right of his wife, the daugh- 
ter of Charles VI. ; and Charles VI., had he not 
been in a demented state, would not have disin- 
herited his son, and bestowed the crown upon a 
stranger because that stranger was his son-in-law. 
Peace negotiations had been commenced with 
the ministers of Henry II. by the ministers of 
the new Queen of England and France. Henry 
did not complain ; but, through revenge, he hon- 
ored his daughter-in-law with the pompous title 
of queen of three kingdoms. Elizabeth was 
secretly alarmed at this proceeding, and she feared 
that when a favorable occasion would present 
itself at a future period, Mary Stv^rt would dis- 

formed by women, and they could not consequently share in the dis- 
tribution of lands allowed for that purpose ; but it is evident that the 
crown was not nor could be regarded as a Salic possession. The 
ancient Britons, who, as well as the inhabitants of the banks of the 
Rhine — the Franks, for instance — had similar customs and laws, 
because their origin was common, offer in their history many exam- 
ples of queens who marched at the head of their armies. When the 
contest arose between Edward and Philip of Valois, Edward's cause 
would have prospered, had not Robert of Artois inclined the balance 
in favor of Philip. It is not less true that the Salic law was often 
applied to the heritage of the throne, and since this epoch it has been 
regarded as the law of the land. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 79 

pute with her the right to the English crown. 
Her disquietude was so much the greater as to 
the communication her ambassador had given to 
the sovereign pontiff on her advent to the throne. 
Paul had answered that he could not recognize 
the hereditary right of an individual who was 
not the offspring of a legitimate marriage ; that 
the Queen of Scotland was, in his opinion, the 
nearest heir of Henry VHI. ; that, moreover, if 
Elizabeth would submit to his decision, he would 
have for her all the consideration compatible 
with justice.* Elizabeth was not ignorant that 
all Catholics, especially those in France, were 
persuaded that the marriage of her mother, Anne 
Boleyn, was null, and that, as an illegitimate 
daughter, she had no right to the succession of 
her father; Mary's title, taken by the express 
order of the King of France, sufficiently demon- 

* Elizabeth had, during her sister's life, abjured Protestantism; 
she had fonnally promised her sister, with an oath, that she would 
maintain the Catholic religion. And when Mary, a few hours before 
her death, called her to her bedside to hear her profession of faith, 
she swore and protested that she was a Roman Catholic, and she did 
it with so much force and apparent sincerity, that the Duke of Feria, 
ambassador of Philip II., was fully convinced by the hypocritical 
Elizabeth. ** May God," she exclaimed, "cause the earth to open 
and swallow me up alive, if I am not a good Roman Catholic." She 
had not yet apostatized when she announced her accession to the 
pope. 



80 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

strated that this prince was of the general opin- 
ion. Henry even appeared so convinced of 
the right of his daughter-in-law, that he caused 
coins to be struck, upon which were the effigies 
of the two spouses and the coat of arms of 
France, Scotland, and England. This, perhaps, 
was the first cause of that deadly hate borne by 
Elizabeth to Mary — a hatred which the former 
could sometimes dissemble, but which always 
devoured her perfidious heart, and could only be 
glutted in the blood of her unfortunate rival. 

After having made peace with France, which 
the exhausted state of the finances rendered 
necessary, (February, 1559,) comprising in the 
treaty Scotland and her young sovereign, and 
having allowed in the same treaty the insertion 
of a clause which reserved all the rights and 
anterior pretensions of the contracting parties, 
which permitted her to maintain her title of 
Queen of France, but also allowed Mary to pre- 
serve that of Queen of England, Elizabeth — 
counselled by her minister, Cecil, who, though not 
a great statesman, was pliant, adroit, cunning, 
and unscrupulous, and consequently an excellent 
minister for a queen without religious or political 
faith — immediately prepared to maintain her 
usurped rights by every means. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 81 

She had at first to oppose the general discon- 
tent which the treaty of Cateau Cambresis caused, 
when the conditions of it became known. Philip 
II., as ally of England, required the restoration 
of Calais, which Henry had distinctly refused; 
then he declared that he would not agree to peace 
whilst England was satisfied without this con- 
dition. On the contrary, he offered to carry on 
the war for six years more, provided England 
would engage not to make peace. This propo- 
sition embarrassed Cecil ; for to renounce Calais 
was to expose himself to the hatred of the Eng- 
lish nation, and to continue the war he had 
neither disciplined troops nor money in the ex- 
chequer ; above all, religious quarrels caused the 
greatest disorder, and before making war abroad 
it was necessary to establish peace at home. 
Cecil had simply recommended the ambassadors, 
without giving any precise instructions, to obtain 
all they could. It was then agreed by the pleni- 
potentiaries that the King of France should re- 
turn Calais at the end of eight years, and that, in 
default of the execution of this clause, he should 
pay to England the sum of five hundred thou- 
sand crowns. This article was evidently only 
inserted to save the queen's honor and attract 
the attention of the English nation ; for it was 



82 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

specified in the following article, that if, in the 
interval of these eight years, any act of hostility 
took place between the contracting parties, Eliza- 
beth would lose all her rights to the restoration 
of Calais. The English did not mistake the 
sense of this clause, which left the King of France 
master of the execution of the preceding one; 
this prince, indeed, could not fail to have in that 
long space of time a plausible pretext for com- 
plaining of the infraction of the treaty; and if 
Elizabeth's ministers did not furnish him with a 
pretext, could he not create one himself? Cecil 
imagined a means of calming by flattery the 
popular resentment : to divert public attention, 
he summoned Lord Wentworth, ex-governor of 
Calais, the commander of the fort, and another 
officer, before a council of war, upon the accusa- 
tion of treason. The first was acquitted; the 
two others, after long trials, underwent a nomi- 
nal condemnation, for the sentence of the council 
was never put in execution ; but Cecil had at- 
tained his proposed end, and the queen was not 
really displeased with the treaty, since through 
it she had been treated with, as Queen of Eng- 
land, by one who was better able to contest the 
title with her. 

To suppress the discontent, the queen and her 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 88 

minister determined to restore the Protestant 
religion in England, and secretly favor the prog- 
ress of reform in Scotland. It is said that 
Elizabeth hesitated some days, some hours, per- 
haps an instant ; for it is more than probable 
that she was in reality neither Protestant nor 
Catholic, and at that time equally indifferent to 
all mode of worship. Meanwhile, the Catholics, 
completely deceived by her public professions, did 
not imagine that she was only a hypocrite, but 
believed she acted from conviction. Protestants 
judged her more properly ; they thought she 
feigned sentiments not heartfelt, and although 
they blamed her for having had recourse to this 
indelicate stratagem, they hoped that, having the 
power, she would restore the reformed worship 
in England. They thought that the moment the 
pope refused to recognize her on account of her 
birth, the moment the Catholics, in England and 
elsewhere, beheld in the Queen of Scotland the 
Catholic heiress to the throne of England, she 
would hasten to abjure a religion which repudi- 
ated her as illegitimate, to embrace the friendly 
doctrines which would sustain her upon the 
throne. So far Elizabeth had left the two parties 
in uncertainty ; for if, on one side, she continued 
to assist at mass, if she celebrated the obsequies 



84 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

of her sister according to the form of the Catho 
lie ritual, if she ordered in the same form a 
funeral service for the repose of the soul of 
Charles V., on the other hand, she recalled the 
reformers from exile, she restored those to lib- 
erty who were imprisoned on account of their 
religion, she forbade the Bishop of Carlisle, who 
was about to say mass in the royal chapel, to 
elevate the consecrated Host in her presence. 

These equivocal acts, these ambiguous meas- 
ures, deceived only those who did not reflect; 
but it was soon impossible to continue the illu- 
sion. Parliament being occupied with the reli- 
gious question in such a manner as to relieve all 
doubt. In spite of the opposition of the Catho- 
lic members of Parliament, in spite of the declared 
resistance of the clergy, the two Houses passed a 
bill, containing — save some slight amendments 
— the reenaction of the acts of Henry VIII. and 
Edward VL, with the declaration that the Book 
of Common Prayer be wholly and exclusively 
used in all churches ; that all the spmtual au- 
thority of foreign bishops should cease in the 
kingdom ; and that the right of punishing or 
repressing error, schism, heresy, should remain 
annexed to the crown, with power to delegate 
this right in whole or in part. Penalties of im- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 85 

prisonmentj perpetual confinement, and even 
death, were found lavished in this bill ; and un- 
fortunately, they were but too often applied dur- 
ing the reign of Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth had taken a decided step, by estab- 
lishing the sovereignty of reform in England ; 
but to revenge herself fully on Henry II. and the 
innocent Mary, it was necessary to harass Scot- 
land, and — notwithstanding that peace was con- 
cluded, and the treaty sworn upon the gospel to 
preserve all the conditions of it — to lend a help- 
ing hand to the reformers, in order that they 
might obtain the preeminence. The queen moth- 
er, reckoning on the assistance of France, had 
commenced to act against the reformers, and 
they had attempted to oppose force to force, 
according to the doctrine of their patriarch, John 
Knox: it is doubtful whether they would have 
succeeded without the assistance of Elizabeth 
and some favorable circumstances. Reform had 
gained, it is true, many proselytes among the 
nobility ; but we should not believe with Prot- 
estant writers, or rather as these writers state, — 
for they do not believe it, — that these neophytes 
formed the most enlightened part of the nation, 
and that they only decided thus because the 
8 



86 LIFE OP MARY STUART. 

reformed religion was a ivise religion, friendly 
to wise liberty. 

These enlightened men, who adopted a wise 
religion, were the same nobles, who, like their 
ancestors, had constantly struggled against the 
sovereign power ; they were these eternal favor- 
ers of feudal despotism, who wished to rise above 
the law, and whom every politic curb, moral and 
religious, clogged and fatigued ; they were these 
cadets, these illegitimate children, whom favor 
provided with ecclesiastical benefices, although 
they were the most ignorant of all men," and 
who, by engaging in this movement, expected to 
gain on the one hand what they had lost on the 
other ; they were, in fine, young or even old deb- 
auchees, delivered up to all the passions, aban- 
doning, without regret, a severe religion, which 
preached true reform, for a broad and accommo- 
dating religion, which freed them, with a single 
stroke, from all that was displeasing in the 
former. 

Of the number of these virtuous neophytes 
was an illegitimate son of James V., the prior 
of St. Andrew's, and destined for the church, 
known first as Lord Stuart, and later as the Earl 
of Mm-ray, who, though loaded with favors by 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 87 

his sister, the generous Mary, became her perse- 
cutor, her denunciator, almost an assassin. This 
Lord Stuart was one of the most influential 
leaders of the Congregation; for by this name 
was designated the assembly of the Protestant 
party. The reformers had thought for a long 
time that Mary's union with the presumptive 
heir of the French crown would bring many ad- 
vantages to the Catholics ; and as they consented 
to this alliance, wishing to compound the matter 
with their consciences, they engaged by a cove- 
nant, prior to the opening of the parliamentary 
session, " to serve even unto death the cause of 
their divine Master, [they were known under 
the name of the Lord's Congregation,] to sus- 
tain and defend the ministers of the gospel; 
also to mutually defend each other, abandon the 
Congregation of Satan — the Catholic church — 
and pursue with all their strength this same 
church, its abominable acts, and its idolatrous 
practices." One can scarcely conceive how the 
most enlightened, wisest, and most virtuous men 
of their time, as Protestants call them, could have 
carried their frenzy so far — even supposing that 
the Catholic Church presented some abuses — 
as to declare abominable and satanical the re- 
ligion which had instructed and civilized the 



88 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

world, which had overturned the altars of pagan- 
ism, whose morality tends only to the happiness 
of men ; the religion in which their fathers and 
ancestors died, in which they themselves were 
born, and from which they only withdrew be- 
cause they neglected its precepts. The Earls of 
Argyle, Morton, and Glencairn were at the head 
of the Congregationalists. 

When the Catholics learned the purport of 
this covenant, they regarded it as a declaration 
of war, and an apostate named Walter Milne, 
a fiery reformed preacher, being found guilty of 
seditious language, was placed in the pillory. 
The reformers raged, and the efforts of the 
regent to pacify them proved ineffectual. The 
Archbishop of St. Andrew's convoked a national 
council, by which was published an abstract of 
doctrine in explanation of the tenets misrepre- 
sented by the missionaries. The congregational 
lords did not yield, and established the new ser- 
vice in Perth. The regent ordered the Protestant 
preachers to appear at Stirling, to answer this 
infraction of the law. Knox arrived from Ge- 
neva before the day appointed for the trial, and 
probably hindered those summoned from appear- 
ing at Stirling. 

On the appointed day, (May 10, 1559,) the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 89 

preachers, not being present, were condemned 
for non-appearance. On receiving the news 
Knox ascended the pulpit, vomited forth sarcasm 
and injury, excited the people to revolt, and the 
docile populace defaced the ornaments of the 
church, demolished the magnificent edifice of 
the Charter House, with several other convents, 
and delivered to the flames whatever was used 
in Catholic worship. 

The enlightened reformers, as they are yet 
called by Scottish waiters of the present day, 
censured these excesses, " although the people 
were partly right in committing them ; " for the 
Catholics, who were undoubtedly very ignorant, 
wrongfully regarded churches — the house of the 
Lord — as sacred edifices, venerable in them- 
selves, and which should be adorned with all 
that is most rich and magnificent in nature. 
They beheved that if the powerful on earth 
adorn their palaces with silver, gold, and precious 
stones, it was but right that the temple of the 
living God should have its share of these riches. 
In the eyes of the reformers, who had received 
all their education, wisdom, and knowledge from 
Heaven, churches were only heaps of stone, 
earth, or wood, which, after the divine service 
was concluded, had no claim to veneration, so 
8* 



90 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

that probably, according to them, a church after 
service might become a place of meeting, a pub- 
lic house, a ball room, or perhaps worse. A very 
just consequence of these strange principles was, 
that it was necessary to destroy, or at least com- 
pletely deface, the Catholic churches. 

Alas ! this miserable doctrine, by which the 
populace was excited and misled, served only to 
palliate the real motive of the reformers, who 
aimed at destroying Catholicism by depriving 
the Catholics of their ministers. " Let us pull 
down the nests^^^ said John Knox, the grand master 
of Scottish reform, " and the rooks lo ill fly o^." 

The regent, accompanied by the Earl of Ar- 
ran, the Duke of Chastelherault, and the Earl 
of Huntley, advanced towards Perth ; unfortu- 
nately, she had few troops, and could depend 
but little on Arran, whose versatile humor she 
knew. Instead of fighting, negotiations com- 
menced ; but in all the negotiations the ad- 
vantage was always on the side of the Con- 
gregationalists. Their successes were even so 
rapid and decisive that in a few days many 
cities, the capital included, were entered by 
the insurgents. Meanwhile Henry sent to the 
queen a veteran corps of French troops ; the 
congregational forces dispersed gradually; roy- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 91 

alist lords joined the royal standard, and Mary- 
reentered Edinburgh. It was then that the Eng- 
lish ministry, or rather Cecil, who directed it, 
judged the moment opportune to execute the 
plan he had formed to sustain the revolt of the 
reformers. If the reformers triumphed over the 
royal authority, Elizabeth could easily com- 
pel the Queen of Scotland to renounce her pre- 
tensions ; the French influence in the country 
would be abolished, reform would be estab- 
lished throughout the kingdom, and the crown 
would most probably pass to that of the heir 
of the Protestant branch of the house of Stu- 
art.* The schemes of Cecil did not end here. 
He hoped that the new sovereign would marry 
Elizabeth, by which both kingdoms would be 
united under one crown. It appeared even 
that this plan of Cecil had been communicated 
to the Scottish reformers and to the congrega- 
tional lords, and that it had been fully adopted. 

* The Earl of Arran, Duke of Chastelherault, of the house of 
Hamilton, was the nearest legitimate heir of James V. Lord James 
Stuart was his illegitimate son, but Cecil preferred Arran : neverthe- 
less, he would have preferred Lord James, had not Arran's weakness, 
inconstancy, and ambition been well known. It appeared, besides, 
that Arran desired to be crowned by revolt, since Henry, a very short 
time before his death, had ordered him to be arrested and held for 
trial. 



92 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Elizabeth herself, in her instructions to Lord 
Shrewsbury, says expressly that he projected 
wresting the crown from Mary, but that she was 
opposed to it. 

Cecil's plan had been approved of by the Con- 
gregation, but that was not sufficient ; promises 
of assistance could not be opposed to the real 
aid which the regent had received and was still 
expecting from France, whence considerable ar- 
maments covered the whole coast. Henry, in- 
deed, died prematurely, (July, 1559,) of a wound 
received at a tournament ; but the reformers 
gained nothing by his death ; Mary's husband 
ascended the throne, and the princes of Lorraine 
commanded the French troops in the king's name. 
Knox urged Cecil, representing that if the re- 
formers did not receive powerful assistance from 
Elizabeth, they would be compelled to make 
peace with the queen at all hazard. Cecil, be- 
coming alarmed, communicated Knox's letters to 
his mistress, whom, to his great sm'prise, he found 
very undecided. Elizabeth cordially hated Knox. 
The latter had, at Frankfort as well as at Geneva, 
boldly declared himself against the Anglican 
liturgy, and moreover he had maintained that 
women were incapable of governing. Less was 
needed to excite against him the animosity of 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 93 

this princess, who was no less devoted to the lit- 
urgy of her father than she was confident of her 
own capacity to wear the crown. Besides, 
she deemed it unworthy of a crowned head 
to foment rebellion among the subjects of a 
neighboring and friendly sovereign ; and she re- 
spected the oaths which she had so recently 
taken to preserve peace with the Queen of Scot- 
land, and to refuse an asylum to Scottish rebels, 
much less afford them assistance. 

The sophist Cecil easily overcame the scruples 
of his mistress. The Queen of England had, 
he maintained, a better right to the superiority 
over Scotland, than Mary Stuart had to the pos- 
session of the Scottish crown. That granted, 
he did not urge her to interfere between subjects 
and their natural prince, but between the mesne 
lords and their vassals. It was the duty of a 
sovereign to protect the latter against the tyran- 
ny of the former. And as these arguments 
made not a strong enough impression upon the 
queen's mind, Cecil appealed to her apprehen- 
sions and jealousy. He depicted the King and 
Queen of France and Scotland as declared en- 
emies, who looked on her as illegitimate, and 
who would never allow her a moment of repose, 
so long as they retained a footing in Scotland. 



94 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

This last and all-powerful consideration ex- 
torted a reluctant consent from the queen ; Cecil 
did the rest. 

To deceive the public, three commissioners were 
appointed to reestablish order on the frontiers. 
The Earl of Northumberland, a Catholic and Jac- 
obite, was named, together with Sir James Sadler 
and Sir James Croft ; but these latter alone were 
admitted into the secret. They were specially 
authorized to urge the Scottish reformers to the 
resumption of hostilities ; to supply them with 
money ; to promise them every kind of aid which 
could be furnished without a manifest breach of 
the peace ; and to induce them, if it was possi- 
ble, to depose Mary, and transfer the crown to 
the house of Plamilton. The Duke of Chastel- 
herault, indeed, the head of that house, had 
hitherto been faithful to the cause of his sover- 
eign ; but his weakness, inconstancy, and am- 
bition were well known : there could be no 
doubt that his allegiance would yield to the 
temptation of a crown for his descendants ; and 
with that view it was resolved to hasten the 
return to Scotland of his eldest son, now called 
the Earl of Arran, and who served in Paris as 
colonel of the Scottish guards. Warned by the 
English ambassador, Throckmorton, who did 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 95 

not hold at that time a very honorable mission, 
Arran secretly escaped to Geneva, from whence 
he wrote a letter to Elizabeth, couched in the 
most ardent language. Elizabeth appeared at 
first highly displeased. " It seemeth," she says, 
" very strange that the Earl of Arran maketh 
mention in his letters that he hath cause to thank 
us for the offers made to hym by us. We be in 
doubt what to thynk, and do much mislyke that 
any such occasion should be gyven by any man- 
ner of message done to hym." It appears that 
Cecil had not confided to Elizabeth his ulterior 
projects, and that the offer to which Arran re- 
ferred was the hand of Elizabeth herself, in the 
event of success in the war against the regent. 
5e that as it may, the earl came from Geneva 
to London incognito ; was admitted to a secret 
interview with Elizabeth, and to several confer- 
ences with Cecil ; and then continued his jour- 
ney to Scotland, until, with the assistance of 
Sadler and Croft, he reached his father's castle 
of Hamilton. 

Meanwhile the commissioners had not re- 
mained inactive, and the congregational lords 
only demanded to he convinced that their cause 
was just. Sadler and Croft undertook this easy 
task. Was not the cause in effect eminently 



96 LIFE OF iMARY STUART. 

Christian and patriotic which had for its object 
the extirpation of idolatry^ and the liberation of 
the country from all foreign sway? These were, 
undoubtedly, two very meritorious things in the 
eyes of the Congregationalists, and they were 
altogether disposed to procure the double glory 
of destroying Catholic worship and depriving 
their queen of the throne. The English commis- 
sioners urged the folly of postponing the attempt 
until the regent should have acquired a decided 
superiority by the aid of the Duke of Guise. At 
the same time, the report which they artfully 
circulated, that the French cabinet had deter- 
mined to annex Scotland as a province to France, 
made a deep impression on the public mind ; a 
promise of neutrality was obtained from the Duke 
of Chastelherault, and several Catholic lords en- 
gaged to draw their swords in defence of the 
liberties of their countiy. 

The insm'gents desired to demonstrate by ar- 
guments, more or less captious, that they were 
right in taking up arms against the lawful au- 
thority. Every rebel wishes to have a motive 
when he revolts ; he is only WTong when he 
yields. The Scottish reformers contended, in 
justification of their criminal aggression, that 
the regent had committed two breaches of the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 97 

capitulation of Edinburgh : 1. By having allowed 
mass to be celebrated in Holyrood Chapel ; 2. By 
having received reenforcements from France. 
Arran, whose arrival had been hitherto concealed, 
suddenly appeared before the Congi-egationalists ; 
and, as the news of his being the destined hus- 
band of Elizabeth had gained circulation, he was 
received with extraordinary honors. Two thou- 
sand pounds sterling, distributed seasonably, ren- 
dered the lords very complaisant. 

The regent, however, appeared ready to face 
the storm. She offered peace, on the basis of 
real liberty of conscience ; but at the same time 
she informed them that she would defend her 
daughter's rights by every means in her power. 
Her offers were rejected : Chastelherault openly 
joined the Congregation ; and the insurgents, 
being briskly urged by the English commission- 
ers, as well as the enthusiastic Knox, moved in 
considerable force towards Edinburgh. The re- 
gent had fortified the city and port of Leith, 
whither she retired with her defenders ; so that 
the rebels entered the capital without opposition, 
where two parties were formed, the one under the 
presidency of Chastelherault, for the despatch of 
political business, the other under that of Knox, 
for the regulation of spiritual concerns. 
9 



98 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

The first party pronounced it expedient, the 
second lawful, to take from the regent the exer- 
cise of her authority : her deprivation was pro- 
claimed by sound of trumpet ; and she herself, as 
well as her aiders and abettors, were declared 
enemies to the country. The regent was still 
supported by the Earl of Huntley, lord chancel- 
lor, the earls marischal and Bothwell, and most 
of the bishops. Her force amounted to between 
two and three thousand Scottish and French 
veterans, whose superior discipline and experi- 
ence rendered them more than a match for the 
bravery and enthusiasm of the ten thousand con- 
gregational soldiers. In an attack on the city 
of Leith, the latter were repulsed with some loss. 

Sadler and Croft, the two vile agents, — they 
cannot be called commissioners, — exclaimed, 
" Good I good ! Blood has flown, and it will yet 
flow for a long time." But in Knox and Cecil 
it created a well-founded doubt of the ultimate 
result. Knox, in the most urgent terms, de- 
manded the aid of two thousand English troops ; 
and, anticipating the objection which might be 
drawn from the existence of peace between the 
two crowns, he suggested that they should serve 
as volunteers, in apparent opposition to the will 
of their sovereign, and under a sentence of out- 



LIFE OP MARY STUART. 99 

lawry and treason. Cecil did not appear to be a 
man who would recoil from any proposition, no 
matter how perfidious it was ; he recoiled, how- 
ever, before that of Knox, not daring to carry 
duplicity to such an extent, or rather fearing that 
the queen would oppose this measure, and that 
his favor would suffer by it. He knew that his 
mistress, if to-day she was more than man, icould 
to-morrow be less than woman* 

In truth, if Elizabeth was jealous of the Queen 
of Scotland, she was also jealous of her own 
reputation ; willing to injure her rival by every 
means in her power, but unwilling to be con- 
sidered as the abettor of insurrection and treason. 
She had hitherto been induced to approve of the 
plans of her disloyal minister ; but it had required 
all his art, all the intrigues of his confidential 
friends, to obtain her consent. Elizabeth, be- 
sides, knew well that to favor the revolt of sub- 
jects against their sovereign is not a becoming 
part for another sovereign. Might not the Queen 
of England, whose legitimacy was contested, 
teach the English, by placing the example of the 
Scots before them, how a mutinous people might 
take advantage of their strength, overturn the 

* An expression made use of by Cecil himself to characterize 
Elizabeth. 



100 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

throne, elevate a second upon the wreck of 
the first, and — to arrive at this point — pass 
through all the phases of disorder, immorality, 
and anarchy? 

One of Cecil's most useful auxiliaries was 
Throckmorton, the ambassador to France ; who, 
by his conduct, which was a continual violation 
of the law of nations, was unworthy of this title. 
He transmitted reports often apocryphal, almost 
always exaggerated, and by suggesting as from 
himself to Cecil that advice which Cecil durst 
not openly tender to the queen, succeeded in 
confirming her jealousy, and keeping alive her 
apprehensions. He requested permission to re- 
turn home, ostensibly on account of his wife's 
illness, in reality to inform the queen " that when- 
soever the French should make an end with Scot- 
land, they would begin with England." Eliza- 
beth, becoming alarmed, authorized Cecil to aid 
the Congregationalists with advice and money ; 
but bad news arrived from Scotland. The insur- 
' gents had attacked the garrison of Leith, and 
been repulsed. They were even so frightened 
that, although the royalists had returned to Leith, 
they disbanded and fled ; nor did they slacken 
their speed until they had reached Stirling, a dis- 
tance of thirty miles. There Knox reproached 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 101 

them so bitterly with their cowardice that they 
burned with shame for having fled. Their cour- 
age especially revived when they received prom- 
ises of money to pay, and of oflicers to discipline, 
their forces ; and were assured that a fleet should 
be equipped to intercept all communication be- 
tween Leith and France. 

In return for these promises, Cecil required 
that the insurgents should send to London an 
accredited agent with a petition for support, that 
the queen might afterwards have some instru- 
ment to produce in justification of her conduct. 
The insurgents deputed Maitland, a statesman 
of great abilities, who had been the regent's sec- 
retary, but, lately deserting to the Congregation- 
alists, had betrayed to them the secrets of his late 
mistress. He presented to Elizabeth a petition, 
which had been previously drawn up by Cecil 
and approved by herself, which Sadler showed to 
Maitland as his own composition, and in which 
the Scots were made to speak so as to deceive 
foreign diplomacy and conceal the share Eng- 
land had taken in these manoeuvres. This peti- 
tion was drawn up with so much art, that Mait- 
land acknowledged it was preferable to that 
which he had brought with him. 

De Noailles, the French ambassador, on learn- 
9* 



102 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

ing that Maitland was seen to enter Throckmor- 
ton's lodgings, demanded an explanation of the 
warlike preparations on the Thames and in the 
northern counties. The perfidious Elizabeth per- 
sonally assured him of her determination to 
maintain the peace of Cateau Cambresis ; and as 
Noailles did not appear fully convinced, she 
added, " May the malediction of Heaven fall 
upon the head of the one who first violates the 
treaty ! " Elizabeth did not believe herself bound 
more by this terrible imprecation than if she had 
sworn by the Styx or the three Parcse. Noailles, 
however, was not deceived ; he immediately de- 
nounced her hostile intention to the regent and 
the King of France. 

The Congregationalists, encouraged by the 
assurances of Cecil, had called a general meeting 
at Stirling ; but before their arrival, a detachment 
from the garrison of Leith suddenly seized the 
place. From Stirling the royalists went in pur- 
suit of the Earl of Arran and Lord James. Ar- 
rived at the promontory of Kingcraig, a fleet was 
perceived sailing towards the coast, and soon after 
the English colors were displayed. The guns of 
the fleet being turned upon the royalists, they im- 
mediately began to retrace their steps; and it is 
a proof of their superior discipline, that, during a 



LIFE OF MARY STUART, 103 

retreat of six days through a hostile country, they 
suffered but inconsiderable loss. 

Elizabeth had the impudence, not to deny this 
act of hostility, but to contend that the fleet's 
only mission was to supply Berwick with pro- 
visions, that stress of weather had driven the 
vessels into the Frith, and that the jealousy or 
the mistake of the French commanders who fired 
on the English from the batteries at Leith, Brunt 
Island, and Inchkeith, had compelled the admiral 
to make reprisals in his own defence. This spe- 
cious tale, though officially attested, was not even 
believed in England. Noailles openly complained 
of the notorious falsity of the allegations con- 
tained in the note sent to him, and insisted that 
Admiral Winter should be brought before a 
commission of inquiry. The commission was 
appointed, and the affair smothered over, without 
France finding cause to complain. Cecil knew 
well that this court would have enough of diffi- 
culty to extricate itself, even in France, from the 
embarrassments which he created. 

Soon after the death of Henry IL, Elizabeth's 
minister undertook to excite in that country dis- 
sensions similar to those which he had fomented 
in Scotland, by arming the princes of the blood 
and the Calvinists against their new monarch. 



104 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

The traitor Throckmorton, who deserved a halter, 
had an interview with Antoine de Boinrbon, 
King of Navarre and brother of the Prince of 
Conde. He stated, in general terms, the esteem 
which Elizabeth had for him, and the danger 
which the reformed religion would experience 
under the administration of the house of Guise ; 
and he allowed him to foresee, as possible, his 
being put in possession of the kingdom of Na- 
varre. Antoine, who was an undecided prince, 
and poorly qualilied to act as a party leader, 
answered evasively. The result of Throckmor- 
ton's intrigues was the formation of an associa- 
tion between the King of Navarre, Conde, 
Admiral Coligni, Dandelot, and the Cardinal of 
Chastillon, the three latter nephews of Constable 
Montmorency. 

But when Throckmorton departed for London, 
as we have seen, he was followed by the misera- 
ble La Renaudie, the apparent head of the con- 
spiracy formed against the Duke of Guise. This 
advent m-er did not hesitate to expose his life in a 
career, where, in case of failure, the halter would 
be his reward, in case of success a vile salary, 
the onlv reward wonhy of conspirators, assas- 
sins, and traitors. ^\'ill it be believed that Eliz- 
abeth did not disdain seeing La Renaudie, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 105 

informing him of her wishes for the success of 
the enterprise, and promising him assistance ? * 

What, then, was the enterprise in which Eliz- 
abeth so nobly joined ? Its object was to attack 
the court suddenly, seize the king and queen, — 
Mary Stuart was Elizabeth's coveted prey, — 
and elevate the Prince of Conde to the throne, 
after having assassinated the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine and the Duke of Guise. At the same time 
the Queen of England ordered the Duke of 
Norfolk — whom she had formerly charged with 
the derisive mission of inquiring into the aggres- 
sion of Admiral Winter — to conclude a treaty 
with the Congregation. The French ambassa- 
dor opposed it with all his power ; he even offered 
to withdraw from Scotland the greater part of 
the French forces, and to refer the matters in 
dispute, between the reformers and their sov- 
ereign to the arbitration of Elizabeth herself. 
Elizabeth was careful not to accept the ajbitra- 
tion, the result of which would have been opposed 
to her ulterior projects, and the treaty was con- 
cluded by Norfolk. It was stipulated that an 

* This La Renaudie was a native of the province of Perigord ; he 
had been pursued for the commission of mayhem, and had for a long 
time sought an asylum without the kingdom. He returned to be a 
conspirator. 



106 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

English army should remain in Scotland until 
the French were expelled from that kingdom, 
and that the Scots should never consent to the 
union of their crown with that of France, should 
aid Elizabeth with four thousand men in case of 
invasion, and should give her hostages for their 
fidelity to these engagements. 

In the mean time the English minister did not 
lose sight of France, and he exerted himself the 
more to assist the reformers to overturn the house 
of Guise, because he feared that the Guise, if 
triumphant, would send an army into Scotland ; 
for the cardinal and duke had been proclaimed 
sole ministers by Francis IL, and there was every 
reason to believe that they would not suffer the 
kingdom of their niece to devolve to her jealous 
rival. The enterprise was difficult, for, besides 
the qualities which please the multitude, the 
Guise possessed those which subdue rebels — 
courage and talents. The duke, modest, gener- 
ous, passionate for glory, discreet, provident, the 
bravest soldier, the most skilful general, excelled 
all his contemporaries by as much as merit and 
science excel blind routine. The cardinal, en- 
dowed with great penetration, was very learned 
in theology, politics, administrative and fiiiancial 
affairs ; not less eloquent than Knox, his dicourse 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 107 

was more attractive, and his style more engaging. 
In fine, it would have been difficult to make a 
better choice of a minister and of a general, 
equally worthy of the royal confidence. 

The Guise appeared like firm Colossi, relied 
on, as they were, by the clergy, nobility, and 
people ; the first through zeal for religion, the 
existence of which was threatened by impious 
innovators ; the second because, ruined by the 
wars of the preceding reigns, they needed the 
reestablishment of their fortunes ; the third be- 
cause they only desired to be freed from the 
subsidies which would naturally be maintained, 
if not increased, so long as the war would last. 
The disturbers were, nevertheless, not discour- 
aged, but secretly agitated all classes, especially 
seeking for enemies of the throne. The cardinal, 
having been informed of the plans of the con- 
spirators, had succeeded in removing the King 
of Navarre by proposing to him to conduct the 
Princess Elizabeth of France to Spain, who 
was promised by the treaty of Cateau Cambre- 
sis to Philip II., and not to his son Don Carlos, 
as some are pleased to repeat, in order to load 
the memory of Philip with a new outrage ; but 
the Prince of Conde and the nephews of Mont- 
morency still remained ; moreover, the reformers 



108 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



had a numerous party in Parliament, and they had 
assassins in their pay besides. Parliament, hur- 
ried away by the factious eloquence of some of 
its members, and desirous of maintaining their 
usm-ped claims to the administration of the 
kingdom, served the cause of reform by their 
remonstrances, without being aware of it ; but 
the reformers wished to employ more expeditious 
means. 

They had employed Captain Mazeres, a brave 
man, but a fanatic, to assassinate the Duke of 
Guise. His proceedings appearing suspicious, 
he was arrested and brought before the duke, 
who, beholding him armed with a very long 
sword, expressed great surprise that a man who 
had given proof in war of valor and address, 
should have chosen a sword the length of which 
rendered it very ti'oublesome to handle. " My 
lord," said the captain to him, " I have already 
experienced this, and that more than once ; but 
to speak candidly, when I consider your valor 
and enraged presence, I have not the courage to 
attack you close at hand, and I therefore resolved 
to deal with you at a distance ; so that if, in- 
stead of this sword, I could have borne a pike, I 
would have done so, so terrible and formidable 
is your presence to me." This singular harangue 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 109 

did not displease the Duke of Guise, who, natu- 
rally magnanimous, pardoned the captain.* The 
attempt of Parliament against the Guise was 
not so serious, and was unravelled in a manner 
amusing enough. This respectable body had 
determined to address to the king humble re- 
monstrances against the exorbitant power of 
the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine ; and to give more weight to these re- 
monstrances, they decided that the entire Par- 

* It was the destiny of Guise to perish by the hand of an assassin. 
It is known that he was killed on the 18th of February, 1563, whilst 
besieging Orleans, by the Calvinist Poltrot de Mere. During the 
preceding year, a noble Angevin had been arrested, who intended to 
assassinate him, whilst at the siege of Rouen. The queen mother, 
Catharine de' Medici, being informed of the design of this man, 
secretly informed the duke of it. He caused him to be brought in 
his presence, and reproached him with his criminal intention, demand- 
ing of him why he wished his life. The Angevin, confoimded, cast 
himself at the feet of the Prince of Lorraine, and implored his mercy ; 
he confessed that he had been persuaded that, by killing him, he 
would have delivered his religion of its most dangerous enemy. 
*' Well ! " answered Guise, " compare my religion with yours. 
Yours counsels you to kill me without hearing me, whilst mine com- 
mands me to pardon you." 

These are the same sentiments which we find paraphrased in those 
beautiful verses of Alzire, which Guzman addresses to his murderer, 
Zamore : — 

" Des dieux qiie nous servons connais la difference : 
Les tiens font commande le meurtre et la vengeance ; 
Et le mien, quand ton bras vient de m'assassiner, 
M'ordonne de te plaindre et de te pardonner." 

10 



110 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

liament, with the president at their head, should 
present them in person to their sovereign. 
Francis, who was, as is known, a pupil of the 
famous Amyot, at that time Abbot of Bellozane, 
and afterwards Bishop of Auxerre, was very 
fond of Latin poetry, and Mary Stuart partook 
of this taste. At the moment when Parliament 
was announced, the two young consorts were 
reading together Virgil's Bucolics. The cardinal, 
w^ho had previously learned the hour and object 
of this visit, and who wished to be present to 
protect his interest, took care to be in the king's 
apartment. He, casting his eyes towards the 
balcony, perceived the long, black robes of the 
magistrates. " My uncle," exclaimed he, ad- 
dressing the cardinal, " what is all that crowd 
there for ? " " "What is it ? " replied the car- 
dinal ; " Pecus omne mag-istri;^^ a double allusion 
to a passage in the Bucolics which the king had 
before him, and to the name of the first president, 
Le Maistre. " Ah, well ! what is he doing with 
all his flock ? " then said the queen, continuing 
the allusion. " Really, madam," replied the car- 
dinal, " he comes to prove to the king that I and 
my brother also are but brutes." How these 
remonstrances were received remains yet to be 
seen : the king was pleased to reply that he was 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. Ill 

very well satisfied with the services of his two 
uncles. 

In the interim, the 15th of March was ap- 
pointed for the execution of the conspiracy. The 
court being at Blois, and the Guise having ac- 
companied the king thither, the rendezvous of 
the conspirators was named at the same place. 
They hoped to surprise the Guise, who appeared 
to suspect nothing; nevertheless, they had no- 
ticed something extraordinary, and had vague 
fears of a conspiracy ; they removed the court 
from Blois to Amboise, where there was a castle 
which could be suddenly protected. A friend of 
La RefTaudie, to whom he had confided the plot, 
becoming alarmed at the evils which the success 
of the conspiracy would cause to France, hap- 
pily believed that he was conscientiously bound 
to inform the tv\^o brothers of it. Linieres, one 
of the conspirators mentioned by the informer, 
had several brothers in the service of the queen 
mother ; a large reward engaged him to betray 
his friends. Thus forewarned, the ministers pre- 
pared their measures. The cardinal desired the 
assistance of troops ; but the duke, although con- 
ceding that the arrival of troops would render 
the conspiracy abortive, feared that the conspira- 
tors would not be surprised : he wished, on the 



112 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

contrary, that they should be taken in the perpe- 
tration of the crime. 

La Renaudie, on learning that the king had 
repaired to Amboise, postponed the execution 
of the project from the loth to the 16th. He 
was ignorant that the Princes of Lorraine, hav- 
ing been informed of his plan, had taken decisive 
precautions ; he was killed before his arrival at 
Amboise, and his body suspended on a gibbet. 
All those who were seized — and the number 
was great — underwent the same punishment. 
The Chancellor Olivier, who was strongly sus- 
pected of favoring reform, obtained an amnesty 
from the king for all the rebels who had not been 
executed ; but such was the blind obstinacy of 
these, virtuous reformers, who, to serve their 
religion, became assassins, that some of them 
endeavored to penetrate by night into the city 
and seize the castle. Guise, becoming furious, 
revoked the amnesty, and many of the reformers 
perished. The Prince of Conde was detained a 
prisoner, not under a direct accusation, but upon 
strong suspicion. Conde complained and de- 
manded a trial, upon which the king granted 
him an audience before the whole court. He 
pleaded his o\\ti cause with much confidence, 
and concluded by formally defying any one to 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 113 

accuse him of having dared to excite the French 
to revolt against their king. It was, however, 
certain that he was in Amboise with a great 
number of his partisans, and that if La Re- 
naudie's attack had succeeded, he would have 
headed the conspirators. But this fact, which 
public opinion regarded as proved, had not 
been juridically established. Thus the matter 
rested. 

When Elizabeth learned the failure of the 
conspiracy of Amboise, she began to waver; but 
she was assured that a civil war would inevita- 
bly follow, and that it would be both honorable 
and profitable for her to interfere. Consequently 
she permitted the publication of a most extraor- 
dinary state paper, entitled A Declaration of 
Peace, but intended as a justification of war. 
" She was," she said, " the ally and friend of the 
King and Queen of France, but the enemy of 
then- ministers ; she took up arms to oppose their 
ambitious ends, and she would not lay them 
down so long as a French soldier remained in 
Scotland." An English army, under Lord Gray, 
crossed the frontier, and having joined the in- 
surgents, besieged Leith ; but, on one side, the 
vigorous defence of the besieged retarded the oper- 
ation of the besiegers ; on the other hand, they 
10 * 



114 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

were restrained by the contradictory orders which 
the queen continually sent them. 

Elizabeth was hurried away almost in spite of 
herself. When an evil course is pursued, each 
step is a fault, and from fault to fault a point is 
reached which affrights one at his position. At 
first she only consented to supply the insurgents 
with money ; afterwards her fleet appeared in the 
Frith ; her pride so far revolted from treating with 
rebels ; soon these rebels, the subjects of another 
sovereign, obtained from her a formal treaty. 
Subsequently, she made protestations to the 
Queen of Scotland of her fidelity to her engage- 
ments, and she received, she encouraged him who 
repaired to Scotland to dethrone his sovereign ; 
she gave, through her ambassador at Paris, the 
most positive assurance that peace would be 
maintained, and this unworthy ambassador fo- 
mented the revolt, and protected the rebels ; final- 
ly, in her last proclamation she styled herself 
the friend of the King and Queen of France, and 
her army besieged Leith — the only place remain- 
ing to the Queen of Scotland — under pretence 
of expelling thence the French, who were the 
only defenders of this queen. It is not, then, 
astonishing, that the operations of the siege were 
paralyzed by the irresolute and contradictory 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



115 



humors of the queen. Thus she commanded her 
general to prefer negotiation to arms ; rejected a 
new project of accommodation ; permitted the 
French envoy to treat with the Scottish lords ; 
ordered the siege to be vigorously carried on ; and 
then reproached her ministers with having extort- 
ed her consent to what, she feared, must prove a 
miserable failure. Her conjectures were partly 
verified. Lord Gray made a general assault, in 
which he was energetically repulsed, with the 
loss of one thousand men. (1560.) 

Elizabeth almost rejoiced at a result which she 
had foreseen, and after a stormy debate with 
Cecil, she insisted that he should proceed to 
Scotland, and extinguish by negotiation the flame 
which he had enkindled. Cecil submitted with 
an evil grace, and a preliminary treaty was signed 
at Berwick, between the French envoys and him- 
self, on the 14th of June, 1560, at the moment 
when the news was received of the death of the 
regent, a princess of distinguished talents and 
moderation, who had sacrificed her health of 
body and peace of mind in support of her daugh- 
ter's interests. During her indisposition, she was 
received wdthin the Castle of Edinburgh, through 
the humanity of Lord Erskine, who held that for- 
tress by a commission from the three estates, and 



116 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

professed to observe the most scrupulous neutrali- 
ty during the contest. From her death bed, Mary- 
sent for the chiefs of the two opposite parties, 
recommended to their care the weal of the king- 
dom and the rights of the sovereign, and saluting 
each of the lords, and giving her hand to the 
commoners, she publicly forgave every injury 
which she had received, and asked forgiveness of 
those whom she had offended. She expired, 
regretted by the Catholics and royalists, and 
esteemed by her very opponents. Knox alone 
endeavored to slander her memory ; but his poi- 
sonous venom recoiled upon himself. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DEATH OF FRANCIS II. — MARY'S RETURN TO SCOTLAND. 

The French commissioners. Randan and 
Montluc, had been empowered to grant an am- 
nesty to the insurgents, provided they would 
return to their duty. The offer was accepted ; 
but at the same time demands were made, which, 
whilst allowing a nominal supremacy to the 
sovereign, tended to transfer the exercise of the 
royal authority to the lords of the Congregation. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 117 

At first the commissioners defended with spirit 
the rights of the crown ; but necessity compelled 
them to submit to more than their powers would 
justify : and it was ultimately agreed that, after 
the removal of the French troops, a convention 
of the three estates should be held ; that out of the 
twenty-four persons named by the convention, 
the queen should select seven, the estates five, to 
be intrusted with the government of the realm. 
To these conditions was appended a demand by 
the Congregation, that the new worship be the 
established faith. But on this point the com- 
missioners refused to yield, and Cecil himself 
approved of their refusal. 

A second treaty between the French and 
English commissioners was at length concluded. 
Francis and Mary recognized the rights of Eliza- 
beth to the crown of England ; and it was stipu- 
lated that, as the French king and queen had 
made several concessions to their Scottish sub- 
jects, at the petition of the English queen, so 
they should ratify those concessions whenever 
the Scots themselves had fulfilled the conditions 
on which they had been granted. Elizabeth was 
eager to ratify a treaty, the sixth clause of which 
was a formal recognition of her claims ; but her 
eagerness was met with equal reluctance on the 



118 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

part of Francis and Mary, who based their- re- 
fusal on the want of authority in their com- 
missioners, and the subsequent misconduct of 
their Scottish subjects. The lords of the Con- 
gregation had called a convention of the estates 
without the royal commission ; had abolished 
throughout the realm the worship hitherto estab- 
lished by law ; and had refused compensation to 
the clergy, who had suffered losses during the late 
insurrection* — three points in direct contradiction 
to the treaty of Edinburgh. They had even sent 
an embassy to Elizabeth, as if they possessed the 

* The reformers, who had the majority in the convention, con- 
demned the Catholic worship and all its accessories, and they in- 
cluded the new principles in a profession of faith digested by Knox 
and his friends. Scottish reform differed essentially from Anglican- 
ism, as by the latter the reigning sovereign is constituted sovereign 
pontiff, the \dsible head of the church ; the former neither allows the 
king nor his officers to interfere in religious affairs, which are regu- 
lated by a general assembly, composed of members of the church 
itself. No more was hierarchy recognized ;' the priest has no supe- 
rior in the priesthood, God being the only superior. As the ecclesi- 
astical reformers exhibited much indifference for terrestrial honors 
and dignities, the convention judged that gross revenues would be 
useless to them. It confined them to an annual salary, and the lords, 
who had for a long time coveted the property of the clergy, appropri- 
ated to themselves all their effects without the slightest scruple. In 
vain did Knox and his associates propose founding with the wealth 
of the Catholic clergy a national church, hospitals, public schools, and 
universities. The lords had not seized to restore, and they ingen- 
iously eluded legislating upon Knox's proposition. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 119 

sovereign authority; and what perhaps proved 
more offensive to the pride of the French cabinet, 
that embassy consisted of peers, whilst only a 
single knight had been deputed to their own 
sovereign. When Throckmorton required that 
Francis and Mary should ratify the treaty, they 
replied that the Scots had not fulfilled any of 
the conditions of the treaty ; that they had acted 
as if they formed a republic independent of the 
sovereign ; that Elizabeth continued to support 
them in their disobedience; and that she had 
akeady broken the ancient treaty, by admitting 
into her kingdom, and into her presence, the 
deputies of the Congregation, without the pre- 
vious consent of their sovereign to this odious 
proceeding. 

It is more than probable that after this re- 
sponse, which thwarted Elizabeth the more as 
her conduct had caused her to be reproached by 
the King of Spain,* that if Francis had lived the 
war would have been renewed, and that, pre- 

* The King of Spain, Philip II,, had formally represented to Eliza- 
beth the injury she had done to her reputation, and even to the cause 
of sovereigns, by sustaining and aiding the rebel subjects of another 
prince. Many members of the council had approved of these obser- 
vations, and opposed Cecil, whom they accused of inveigling the queen 
into a wrong course. Arundel, Parry, and others belonged to this 
party, which was designated by the name of Philippians. 



120 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

dominated over as he was by Mary, he would 
have led to Scotland an army sufficient to sub- 
due the rebels, and cause Elizabeth to tremble 
anew upon her throne. Unfortunately for Mary, 
and undoubtedly also for Scotland, which now 
bears the yoke of England, her ancient and im- 
placable rival, Francis, a weak and sickly prince, 
died on the 6th of December, 1560, of an im- 
posthume in the ear. It is said that this mal- 
ady was of a nature to cause death ; but it is very 
doubtful whether it would have proved mortal 
so soon when no grievous symptom had yet por- 
tended such a result. The report was circulated 
that Ambrose Pare, his surgeon, had poisoned 
the wound, in order to save the Prince of Conde, 
the avowed leader of the Calvinist party. This 
prince, having been accused of high treason, had 
been brought before a select committee of the 
French Parliament, and condemned to death. In 
vain had his pardon been solicited ; in vain had 
Eleanor de Reye, his wife, cast herself at the 
king's feet ; he had resisted the prayers and tears 
of the weeping princess. " Your husband," said 
he to her, " wished to kill me, in order to possess 
my crown." The Guise appeared no less in- 
flexible. The 10th of December was the day 
appointed for the execution, and the king died 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 121 

four days before. This death, which occurred so 
opportunely, gave rise to suspicions which have 
never been resolved. Ambrose Pare was a Cal- 
vinist, and favored Montmorency : he is accused 
of having wished to serve the interests of his 
party ; but Protestant writers represent Pare as 
a man incapable of having conceived the thought 
of such a crime. Certain it is, that no investiga- 
tion was held, although the rumor of poison was 
generally circulated. 

Catharine de' Medici had little love for Francis, 
all her affection being concentrated upon the 
Duke of Anjou, her younger son; she hated 
Mary especially, because, jealous of excess of 
power, she had no influence in administrative 
affairs ; whilst Francis lived, her situation could 
not change, since Francis obeyed Mary, who, in 
turn, obeyed her uncles : the death of her son 
caused her, then, few regrets as a mother; it 
served her ambition as a queen; for, rid of her 
daughter-in-law, whose interest, youth, and beau- 
ty she envied, reckoning on the assistance of a 
powerful party, formed by all discontented per- 
sons, Calvinists or Catholics, she would reign in 
the name of the ten-year-old king. She at first 
had had some doubts, but she was fully reassured 
by Chancellor de L'Hopital. " The estates," 
11 



122 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

said he to her, " are assembled, and the parties 
present: declared enemies of each other, they 
will become reconciled that the regency may be 
offered to you — the Guise, lest the power pass 
to the house of Conde ; the Conde, that the 
Guise may not obtain it. Then, instead of 
being the instrument of either party, you will 
rule over them, and by opposing them to each 
other, will render them harmless." 

The predictions of L'Hopital were fully veri- 
fied, success even surpassing Catharine's hopes : 
for the moment Francis expired, the two parties 
spontaneously regarded her as the lawful regent, 
applying to her to interest her in their preten- 
sions ; the Guise urging her to order the execu- 
tion, the King of Navarre asking the life of his 
brother, so that she was in fact the regent with- 
out the intervention of the estates ; but she took 
care not to sacrifice Conde to the resentment of 
the Guise. In her system of balancing the 
power of the parties, she needed a man whom 
she might oppose to the Princes of Lorraine, 
and the feeble King of Navarre was not equal 
to the task. The Prince of Conde was set at 
liberty ; the King of NavaiTC was appointed 
lieutenant general of the kingdom ; the Guise 
preserved their credit at court and in the king- 
dom : Catharine ruled over all. 



LITE OF MARY STUART. 123 

Catharine had great accomplishments a-nd 
great faults. Beautiful, of tall stature, of a pre- 
possessing yet majestic exterior, always sur- 
rounded by a numerous train of ladies of the 
best families in the kingdom, amusing them and 
herself by fetes, dances, concerts, hunting or 
fishing parties, a lover and protector of the arts, 
affable towards all, she had succeeded — notwith- 
standing the estrangement of Henry 11. from her 
— by force of perseverance and address in render- 
ing herself the object of universal homage ; but 
it is supposed that all these amiable qualities, 
which rendered her so attractive, were the fruit 
of profound dissimulation, rather than of her 
natural disposition. The only person with whom 
she could or would not dissemble was her daugh- 
ter-in-law. Catharine had the weakness of the 
Queen of England ; she desired to be consid- 
ered beautiful. She suffered much from contrast 
with young persons of remarkable beauty ; but it 
is pretended that she made them serve her ends, 
by captivating by their means lords whom she 
wished to entice. Moreover, Catharine did not 
fear on their part any usurpation of power ; where- 
as it would be easy for a young queen whom 
she must acknowledge beautiful, despite her 
jealousy, to deprive her, by her charms, enhanced 



124 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

by regal eclat, and the enchantment of power, 
of all the hearts she might have wished to attach 
to herself. In reality, during her husband's life, 
Catharine had no determined system ; during 
the reign of her eldest son, she constantly found 
the Guise in the career she would pursue. Thus 
she appeared only inconsistent and heedless, 
always allowing herself to be controlled by 
events. Sometimes she favored the reformers, 
receiving and reading their writings ; sometimes, 
becoming reconciled to the Guise, she revealed 
the projects of the Calvinists to them. When 
the Guise believed that they had no need of her 
assistance, they scorned her ; then she returned 
to the Calvinists, whose doctrines, moreover, 
frightened her little; for after the assassination 
of Guise, when the princes' party became all- 
powerful, as they spoke to her of the dangers 
which religion encountered, she answered with 
an inconceivable and scandalous levity, " Well, 
gentlemen, we will pray to God in French ! " 

The death of Francis II., who left no children, 
had burst the links which united France to Scot- 
land, and with it vanished the principal motive 
which Cecil had alleged to justify his proceed- 
ings. Mary, who did not suspect the duplicity 
of the English minister, believed that she might 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 125 

assume without molestation the government of 
her native kingdom ; but Cecil's intention was to 
create so many obstacles that she could not 
return to Scotland, at least for a long time. If 
she married again, which was very likely, as she 
was but eighteen years of age, her new husband 
would surely revive her rights to the throne of 
England. Admiral Winter continued to cruise 
in the Frith ; and Randolph, Elizabeth's agent, 
was instructed to remind the lords of the Congre- 
gation of their obligations to Elizabeth ; to ad- 
vise the conclusion of a perpetual league with 
England during the absence of Queen Mary ; 
and to suggest a form of association, which 
should have for its chief object to compel her to 
marry one of her own subjects. 

Elizabeth had no reason to complain of the 
backwardness of the Scots. Chastelherault, Ar- 
gyle, Morton, and Glencairn tendered her their 
services; the disloyal Maitland even promised 
to betray to Cecil the plans and motions of Mary 
and her friends ; and Lord James, returning 
through England from France, — whither he had 
been to assure his sister of his fraternal attach- 
ment, — adviseoElizabeth to intercept her on the 
sea and make her a prisoner. In fact, the Scots, 
undoubtedly becoming better as they became 
11* 



126 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

reformed, had at this time singular ideas of 
honor and fideUty to their engagements. It 
might be said that they had a very correct idea 
of personal interest, which at all times sacrifices, 
unscrupulously, probity, duty, and affection. 

Mary, no longer receiving at Paris the respect 
and attention which had been lavished on her 
hitherto, and which became more necessary since 
the early death of her spouse, had departed for 
Lorraine, to spend the winter there. In her 
grief, which was nowise affected, as some wri- 
ters have said, whose pens are always dipped in 
gall, Mary sought to beguile her sorrow by ex- 
pressing it in Latin verse.* She composed ele- 
gies in honor of her husband.f Elizabeth's 

* It has been stated in writings unworthy of confidence — indi- 
gested collections of false traditions, satires, and calumnies — that 
Mary had culpable intrigues at the court of France. They are base 
forgeries, which Brant6me himself, that cjoiical slanderer of all the 
women of his time, has not dared to affirm. 

t Ah, why should she not have regretted Francis ? If not through 
conjugal love, at least through her o'vs'n interest. She lost a husband 
who had for her an absolute deference, and which, with the sway she 
had over him, she would have constantly maintained ; she lost the 
most beautiful crown of Europe at an age when vain enjoyments are 
most felt ; she irrevocably lost the means of causing her positive 
rights to the English crown to be establisSfd by arms ; she lost a 
country where she had been educated, the society of enlightened 
men, the advantage of climate, for a country which repelled her, and 
where, under a sky always cold and cloudy, the men were like half 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 127 

agents followed her even to her retreat, to de- 
mand the ratification of the treaty, the work of 
Cecil. To the Earl of Bedford, Mewtas, and 
Throckmorton she always made the same reply — 
that since the death of Francis, her uncles had 
refused to give her advice, that they might not 
be said to interfere with the concerns of Scot- 
land ; that on a subject which so deeply affected 
the rights of her crown and the interests of the 
Scottish people, she neither desired nor could 
she be expected to answer without the advice 
of her council ; but that, on her return to her 
dominions, she would consult the estates, and do 
whatever she should judge proper.* 

Mary's refusal irritated Elizabeth, and con- 
firmed her in the suspicions which had been 
previously suggested by Cecil and his friends ; 
and when M. D'Oyselles requested permission 
for Mary to pass through England to Scotland, 

savages. These were, it seems, sufficient reasons for Mary to haye 
no need of pretence when she showed grief and tears. 

* Of Mary's conduct after her husband's death, we have the nota- 
ble testimony of Throckmorton, the English ambassador in Paris : 
" Since the death of the king, the Queen of Scotland carries herself 
so honorably, wisely, and discreetly, that methinks it were to be 
wished by all wise men and her majesty's good subjects, that the one 
of these two queens of the Isle of Britain were transformed into the 
shape of a man, to make so happy a marriage, that there might 
thereby be a vmity of the whole isle." 



128 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

(1561,) she refused him in so vehement a tone, 
and with such reproachful expressions, as to be- 
tray the exacerbation of her mind. Throckmor- 
ton soon afterwards waited on the Scottish queen 
to justify the conduct of his sovereign. When 
Mary saw him, she ordered her attendants to re- 
tire; "that," said she, "if, like the Queen of 
England, I cannot command my temper, I may 
at least have fewer spectators of my weakness ; " 
and when Throckmorton had declared the object 
of his visit, she calmly replied, " Your mistress 
reproaches me with my youth — it is a defect 
which time will cure — but she might reproach 
me with my folly, if, young as I am, without 
husband or council, I should take on myself to 
ratify the treaty. When I have consulted the 
estates of my realm, I will return a definite an- 
swer. I only repent of having had the weakness 
to ask of your sovereign a favor which I did not 
need. I came to France in defiance of Edward 
VI. ; I will return to Scotland in defiance of his 
sister. I want nothing of her but her friendship ; 
if she chooses, she may have me a loving kins- 
woman and a useful neighbor ; for it is not my 
intention to intrigue with the discontented in her 
kingdom, as she intrigues with the discontented 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 129 

K this answer had been faithfully transmitted 
to Elizabeth, she would perhaps have entered 
into herself, and — blushing at the more than 
equivocal conduct she had hitherto exhibited — 
have made a treaty with Mary, which, dictated 
in good faith, would have had some chance of 
continuance ; but the officious and base Trock- 
morton transmitted to Elizabeth the answer of 
the Queen of Scotland so altered and disguised 
as only to determine her to adopt what Lord 
James, Morton, and Maitland had recommended : 
to seize her good sister on the route, and conduct 
her to England. A fleet was soon collected in 
the waters of the Thames, and ordered to cruise 
in the Channel, under pretext of clearing it from 
pirates. The Queen of Scotland was informed 
of it, and demanded an explanation. Elizabeth 
herself wrote to her, that at the request of the 
King of Spain she had sent a few barks to sea 
to cruise after certain Scottish pirates. Mary 
was not diverted from her purpose ; but confid- 
ing in Providence, she fearlessly, but not without 
regret, made preparations for her departure. 

O, why was not Catharine touched by the 
tears which her unjust rigor caused to be shed ? 
All those who saw Ma^-y, all those who could 
hear her plaints, were afflicted with her, and 



130 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

blamed Catharine. What had she then to fear 
from this young queen, who, content to live in a 
country she loved, appeared entirely averse, to 
ambition for power ? And it was true that 
Mary had not loved the throne upon which she 
had been seated, because, from the height of this 
throne, she could dictate her pleasure over a vast 
empire ; she loved it rather through levity, be- 
cause, young, amiable, and beautiful, she was, as 
it were, upon a pedestal, from which she re- 
ceived the incense which all the French lords 
burned before her. If through flattery she ob- 
tained from the king all that she asked, it was 
to please her uncles, whom she loved and re- 
spected, particularly the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
who joined to the talents of a statesman all the 
grace of a delicate and witty courtier, besides 
the charm of a conversation always full of 
happy sallies. She had not known her father ; 
she could only preserve of her mother a vague 
and confused remembrance, for at the age of 
six years she had been separated from her, and 
since that time had not seen her ; and moreover 
her tender and sensible heart had need of love. 
Her uncles had supplied the place of parents, 
whom she had not : she cherished them, respected 
them, had unlimited confidence in them; and 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 131 

when they besought her to sustain, through her 
ascendency, the advice which they gave the king, 
Mary did it joyfully, because she firmly believed 
that her uncles wished only what was just. 

But Catharine saw only in the young queen 
an odious rival, who would be a useful and pow- 
erful auxiliary for the Guise, by drawing into 
thek party this swarm of lords and knights who 
surrounded her, in order that, fashioned by expe- 
rience to the manoeuvres of the court, or learning 
with age to love power for its own gratifications, 
she might place herself at the head of this party 
by the influence she would exercise over the new 
sovereign. Charles IX., notwithstanding what 
has been said by Protestant writers, and their 
worthy competitors the pretended philosophers 
of the nineteenth century, had been endowed by 
Heaven with good qualities ; a bad education 
had corrupted them, and his defects were in- 
creased. Thus his passion became real fury at 
the least contradiction ; should his brother's 
widow gain the ascendency over him, as would 
have probably happened, Catharine would have 
been forever excluded from power. When Ma- 
ry's departure had been mentioned for the first 
time, Charles had strenuously opposed it: he 
was then only twelve years of age ; yet he de- 



132 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

manded her as a wife from his mother. When 
they represented to him that there existed be- 
tween her and himself bonds of affinity which 
rendered their marriage impossible, he replied, 
" Well, I will go to Rome, cast myself at the 
pope's feet, and the pope will give me Mary." 

Assuredly the Queen of Scotland had not 
sought to create this penchant ; but Catharine 
appeared to believe it, that she might reproach 
her, and the more Charles persisted in wishing 
to hinder this departure which afflicted him, the 
more Catharine sought to hasten it, and mean- 
while destroy this growing passion of her son. 
We will say nothing of the unworthy distrac- 
tions which she is accused of having furnished 
the young prince, so as to occupy his mind other- 
wise ; we will speak only of the calumnies con- 
cerning Mary which she circulated around her 
son, in order that this envenomed discourse would 
be borne from all parts to the ears of the king, as 
repeated by so many echoes. It was by these 
means that she finally obtained his consent to her 
departure. 

At length came the doleful day when Mary, 
leaving France forever, entered upon a career 
of misfortune. At the commencement of the 
month of August, Mary Stuart, in the bloom of 




f Mif 




ADIEU, FRANCE, ADIEU J 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 135 

youth, beautiful, and rich in knowledge, — Mary, 
with a cultivated mind and a generous heart, — 
left the Louvre, her eyes moist with tears, and 
departed for Calais, accompanied by her uncles 
and many French and Scottish lords. Two 
galleys and four transports awaited her at Calais, 
to receive herself, suite, and baggage. She as- 
cended the deck of the royal galley, (15th of 
August, 1561 ;) and as long as the coast remained 
in sight, her eyes were constantly directed to- 
wards the land in which she had lived from her 
childhood, and had reigned as queen. In propor- 
tion as the downs of the coast seemed to sink be- 
fore her eyes, a dolorous sensation descended from 
her forehead, and spread over all her features as 
a veil of mourning. It has been said, that by 
degrees the last ray of hope was extinguished. 
" Adieu, France, adieu ! " exclaimed she, raising 
her hands to heaven, as if to offer Him the sacri- 
fice of all her affections. 

The night was calm and still, but sleep had 
deserted her eyelids, for repose was not in her 
heart. The next day Mary was on deck before 
sunrise, and she still sought with her eyes this 
cherished land, this land of her adoption, which 
she yet seemed to discern through the clouds 
which overhung the waters. But a thick fog soon 



136 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

arising enveloped her galley in gloom. " O, it 
is all over," exclaimed she again. " France ! 
France ! I shall never see you more." * 

The mist which deprived the Queen of Scot- 
land of the sight of land, which she coasted near 
enough in order to shun a rencontre with the 
small English harks despatched by Elizabeth to 
clear the seas from pirates, favored the progress 
of the galleys, which passed near the English 

* Tradition informs us that it was then that Mary composed the 
following song : — 

" Adieu, plaisant pays de France, 
ma patrie 
La plus cherie, 
Qui as nourri ma jeune enfancel 

Adieu, France ! Adieu, mes beaux joura I 

La nef qui dejoint mes amours 

N'a ici de moi que la moiti6 ; 

Une parte te reste ; elle est tienne : 

Je la fie a ton amitie. 

Pour que de I'autre il te souvienne I " 

Thou pleasant land of France, farewell I 

Cherished with love 

All lands above. 
Nurse of my infancy, farewell ! 

Dear France, and happier days, adieu I 
The sail that wafts me far from you, 
Bears but my half away ; the rest 
Thine own, and thine alone shall be: 
This of its faith the pledge and test — 
To love and to remember thee. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 137 

squadron without being perceived. Of the four 
transports, one only escaped ; the three others 
were taken by the English admiral, (19th of 
August,) but the galleys slipped through his grasp. 
The minister Cecil, who was greatly discon- 
certed at an occurrence which had only placed 
in his power the queen's mules instead of the 
queen herself, wrote to Throckmorton not to fail 
to publish at Paris that the admiral, who was 
cruising in the Channel to cleanse it from pirates, 
had met the queen's galleys, and offered them the 
accustomed salute — which was entirely false ; 
in reality, the admiral, in addition to what Cecil 
had stated, had stopped the vessels, but only to 
make a thorough examination of them ; they 
even detained one which appeared suspicious — 
that one on which was found the Earl of Egling- 
ton, one of the queen's officers. 

Mary approached her own land with mingled 
emotions of hope and apprehension. How would 
she be received at Edinburgh ? Would she find 
there faithful friends, or would her native soil 
refuse to receive its sovereign ? To disappoint 
the machinations of her enemies, she had ar- 
rived a fortnight before the appointed time, 
so that no preparation had been made for her 
reception. But scarcely had the news of her 
12* 



138 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

arrival been received at the capital, than the whole 
population of Edinburgh flocked to her — peers, 
nobles, citizens, mechanics, the clergy, children, 
old men, every one ; and as she appeared, unan- 
imous acclamations made the air resound with 
the name of Mary. Her fears and suspicions 
were dispelled, to give place to the most lively 
joy. It is agreeable to a sovereign to be loved; 
and never did any king on earth receive more 
marks of love than the Scottish people gave on 
this memorable day to their amiable sovereign. 
Ah, may she enjoy for a long time the happiness 
which she experiences. May it please Heaven 
that this radiant day be succeeded by one as 
radiant. 



CHAPTER V. 

BEIGN OF MAKY. — SHE MAREIES DARXLET. 

Mary, upon ascending the throne, was aware 
that she could hope for but little assistance from 
France, distracted as it was by civil war. She 
therefore determined, by the advice of her uncles, 
to subdue by conciliation, if possible, the hostility 
of her former opponents. Her principal ministers 
were Lord James Stuart, although she was not 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 139 

ignorant that he had promised Elizabeth to dis- 
close to her all the state secrets, and the apostate 
Maitland, who had been her private secretary, 
and had betrayed her: she counted on gaining 
the latter through generosity; and it must be 
acknowledged that, if Lord James remained 
treacherous, as his correspondence with Robert 
Dudley proves, Maitland, in his correspondence 
with Cecil, although he appears very desirous of 
obtaining the favor of Elizabeth, is not the less 
zealous protector of his sovereign, sustaining her 
interests with as much zeal as ability. In fact, 
Lord James and Maitland possessed the com- 
plete confidence of the Congregationalists, and 
it was evident that if Mary could attach them to 
her interests, she would have much less to fear 
from the Congregation. It appeared, also, that 
Mary, who speedily forgot an injury, sincerely 
desired to live on good terms with Elizabeth. 
Her letters were frank ; but Elizabeth always 
answered reservedly, because she could regard 
Mary only as a rival, always ready at the least 
accident to dispute her right to the crown. 
Wherefore she continued to insist that Mary 
should ratify the treaty of Leith, particularly that 
article which not only recognized the right of 
Elizabeth, but also precluded the Scottish queen 



140 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

from assuming the arms or title of England. To 
the first of these points Mary offered no objec- 
tion ; but she contended that to assent to the 
second would be a virtual renunciation of her 
birthright, and an allowance of the claim made 
to the succession by the house of Suffolk. Cecil 
suggested that Mary, on her part, should ac- 
knowledge the right to the crown of England to 
be vested in Elizabeth and the lawful heu'S of 
her body ; and that Elizabeth should declare, on 
the other, that failing her own issue, the succes- 
sion belonged of right to the Queen of Scotland. 
With this arrangement the latter was satisfied ; 
but the consent of Elizabeth could not be ob- 
tained : Cecil proposed a conference between the 
two queens in a northern county. Mary assented 
to the proposal ; but Elizabeth, after having ap- 
peared to desire this interview, would not consent 
to it. Cecil was obliged to allege" pretext upon pre- 
text in excuse of his sovereign — roads rendered 
impassable by the rains, the royal houses between 
London and York out of repair, and the want 
of time to make the necessary provision of wine, 
fowl, and poultry.* Elizabeth's true reason Cecil 

* It was on the 20th of June that Cecil gave this pitiable excuse, 
and the conference was not to have taken place until the month of 
August. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 141 

could not declare ; it was the Queen of Eng- 
land's feminine jealousy, which made her dread 
to appear less young, less amiable, and less beau- 
tiful than the Queen of Scotland; and Eliza- 
beth probably foresaw that, appearing with all 
her charms in the northern counties, Mary would 
exercise a very gi-eat influence over all minds ; 
she was aware that in that section Mary's rights 
were generally judged better than her own. 

Meanwhile Mary was far from being as happy 
as the enthusiastic reception she had met with 
on her arrival seemed to declare.* She had been 
brought up in the Catholic religion, and had come 
fully decided to persevere in its doctrines, and 
regularly observe the precepts of the church. The 
day after her arrival in Edinburgh, she ordered 
that the ma^s be offered up in her chapel by a 
Catholic priest ; and this same people, who had 
proclaimed her sovereign with shouts of frantic 

* On landing, she had at first repaired to HoljTOod Palace, from 
whence herself and suite were conducted to Edinburgh on miserable 
country hackneys, covered with dilapidated harness ; and when, in- 
voluntarily reverting to the past, she inwardly compared the misera- 
ble animals with the superb horses she had in France, and the rude 
and blackened walls of Holyrood with the rich apartments of the 
Louvre, she refrained with difficulty from testifying her regret. The 
afiection which the people exhibited for her consoled her for every 
thing ; but, unhappily, it did not last. 



142 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

joy, not wishing that she should enjoy the liberty 
of conscience thev themselves claimed, rushed 
to the palace, and would have massacred the 
priest, without the intervention of Lord James 
Stuart. 

Meanwhile Mary, as is acknowledged even by 
her enemies, displayed in the commencement of 
her reign prudence seemingly incompatible with 
her youth, (she was only in her nineteenth year.) 
It is true that nature had lavished upon her 
all those exterior gifts which please, captivate, or 
inspire men with awe ; she was of a beautiful 
figure, and her graceful motion did not detract 
from her noble and majestic carriage ; her fea- 
tures expressed the benevolence of her character, 
and her physiognomy was bewitching. By the 
ease of her manners, and her affability, she cap- 
tivated hearts ; but to sustain herself amidst all 
the rival or hostile parties which her sudden 
arrival had disconcerted, she had often to act 
against her will, and more than once to overcome 
conscientious scruples, which reproached her with 
making concessions to the dissenters, without 
which she would not have been allowed to pos- 
sess the throne a single day. She acted in every 
thing that concerned religious matters by the 
advice of Maitland, and her brother, whom she 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 143 

had at first created prior of St. Andrew's, and 
afterwards Earl of Marr. 

Despite Mary's efforts to maintain internal 
tranquillity, despite her condescension to those 
who each day demanded new sacrifices, despite 
even the conciliatory measures taken by Mait- 
land to gain the lords of the Congregation to the 
queen's government, there existed an intracta- 
ble class of men, whom nothing could reclaim ; 
these were the reformed preachers, men of great 
speeches, who found every thing defective in the 
church of Rome, announced themselves as apos- 
tles of a better religion, — the pure doctrine of the 
gospel, — and who, to show the sweetness of 
their evangelic virtues, delivered themselves up 
to all the excesses of intolerance, which fright- 
ened not even the idea of crime. It is known 
that the tolerance of these great reformers is only 
for the people, who are always right when they 
arise against obdurate men who reject their 
doctrines ; they never ascended the pulpit with- 
out declaiming against the queen with such vio- 
lence that it was only surprising that, after their 
sermons, a hundred arms, armed with poniards, 
did not snatch the life of this impious woman^ 
the agent of Satan, the enemy of true Christianity ; 
for thus they styled Mary. 



144 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

The queen sent for John Knox, the virulent 
patriarch of reform. "John Knox," said she to 
him, with angelic sweetness, " why do you pur- 
sue me so virulently ? What have I done that 
you should seek to alienate the hearts of my 
subjects from me ? Does your religion order you 
to be unmerciful to those who have, in your 
opinion, the misfortune not to agree in your doc- 
trines ? Ah, I myself have this misfortune ; but 
does that make me your enemy ? Have I en- 
deavored to use against you the royal authority ? 
Go ; you will lose nothing in opinion by show- 
ing yourself more moderate in what you call the 
accomplishment of your duty." Knox stam- 
mered some excuse, made vague promises, and 
did not change. He considered it a crime in the 
queen not to have ratified the religious system 
adopted by Parliament in 1560, and the confisca- 
tion of- the goods of the clergy, a stringent acces- 
sory of this system. The Earl of Marr, who 
appeared at that time to have for his sister as 
much affection as he had previously shown aver- 
sion and hatred, sustained her with all his influ- 
ence against the venomous manoeuvres of Knox 
and his friends, which for a long time rendered 
Knox and the earl almost enemies. The queen, 
grateful for what her brother did for her, granted 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 145 

him her entire friendship, and loaded him, mean- 
while, with favors. To have named him the 
Earl of Marr was not sufficient; she created 
him Earl of Murray, whose great wealth had 
been annexed to the crown, and whose party she 
wished to detach in her brother's favor. But 
this grant met with sharp opposition in the Earl 
of Huntley, the most powerful lord of Northern 
Scotland. 

This earl seized the greater part of Murray's 
domains ; he was of the small number of peers 
who had rejected the doctrines of reform, and it 
seemed that this conformity of religious opinions 
should have established a close alliance between 
the queen and himself; it was not so. It is 
contended that Huntley offered the queen to 
join her, on her arrival, with twenty thousand 
men, if she desired to reestablish the Catholic 
religion, and that the queen refused this power- 
ful assistance because she did not wish to involve 
Scotland in civil war. But it is very doubtful 
whether this proposition was made, for it is very 
probable that the Guise would have urgently 
counselled their niece to accept it. What seems 
more likely is, that Huntley openly aspired to 
conquer his independence, and that the queen 
sought to diminish a power, which, at first 
13 



146 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

rivalling, would have, perhaps, finally become 
dominant. 

A judicial penalty inflicted by Sir John Gor- 
don, son of the earl, for some abuses of power, 
became for Huntley, if not a legitimate cause 
for resistance and revolt, at least a plausible pre- 
text ; for nothing was easier than to contend that 
Sir John Gordon had transcended his authority. 
The queen, not wishing to allow the earl time to 
make much preparation, advanced at the head 
of a small body of troops, and took the northern 
route, sometimes passing the night under a tent, 
sometimes accepting hospitality in the besmoked 
manor of some noble countryman. As she was 
naturally gay, and above all very affable, she 
often mingled with her warriors, laughed with 
them at disappointments in travelling, and filled 
them with a devotedness which rendered them 
invincible. The earl was startled by the queen's 
apparition, and he repaired to her, protesting his 
submission ; but when Mary's little army ap- 
peared before Inverness, the governor refused her 
entrance, although Inverness was a royal castle. 
The fortress was immediately invested, and the 
garrison forced to surrender; the governor, hav- 
ing been tried by a court martial, was condemned 
to death as a traitor and executed. In the mean 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 147 

time Sir John Gordon, who had escaped from 
prison, armed all his father's vassals, and ad- 
vanced towards Aberdeen, where the queen was. 
Huntley joined his son. 

The new Earl of Murray was brave, and above 
all an excellent general. He located his little 
band in an advantageous position, and placed in 
front the northern clans, composed of men whom 
he had called upon, and who had responded to 
the appeal, but of whose courage he was doubt- 
ful. What he had foreseen occurred : the clans 
opposed only a feeble resistance to Gordon's 
soldiers, and retreated towards Murray's select 
battalion. Gordon's troops pursued them, throw- 
ing away their lances and drawing their swords ; 
and — as in all pursuits — their ranks became 
disordered. Being attacked at this moment by 
Murray, Gordon's troops in vain attempted to 
rally ; pressed more and more, they fell back. 
The clans which had fled at first, on seeing for- 
tune change, returned to the charge, and finished 
by routing their enemies, (1562.) Huntley, who 
was very fat and heavily armed, fell from his 
horse, and was crushed to death by the retreating 
army ; according to some versions, he died of 
despair. His son was made prisoner and be- 
headed ; a decree branded the earl's memory ; 



148 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Murray was placed in possession of the new 
domains, and the queen returned to Edinburgh, 
leaving all the northern barons filled with terror 
by the activity of her measures, and the success 
of her arms. 

Very soon after, the politic Maitland departed 
for London, ostensibly to recommend to Eliza- 
beth a peace between her and Charles IX., in 
reality to watch the proceedings of the English 
Parliament. The House of Commons voted an 
address to Elizabeth, requesting her to marry ; 
there was likewise a similar proceeding spoken 
of in Scotland with respect to Mary ; for the 
Scots, as well as the English, desired that the 
queen should have a direct successor, and that 
each of them should name one in case of their 
not having children. They reminded Elizabeth 
of the attempt of foreign powers to set up a 
competitor against herself, and of the danger to 
the reformed faith, if a Catholic should succeed. 
These remarks were evidently pointed at Mary 
Stuart ; but the interests of that princess were 
protected, if not by justice, at least by the ca- 
price of Elizabeth, who resented the interference 
of the Commons in a concern which she deemed 
exclusively her own. She received the petition 
reluctantly, and when reminded of an answer, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 149 

she replied sharply and in an unsatisfactory 
manner. 

Mary received no address, but she knew that 
the Scots were desirous that she should marry 
again ; and she herself was not averse. On the 
one hand her uncles proposed to her the King 
of Navarre ; on the other was presented the 
Archduke of Austria. The King of Navarre, 
Antoine de Bourbon, was the head of the Cal- 
vinist party ; the Guise offered him the throne 
of Scotland, with that of England in perspec- 
tive, and Antoine wavered. But he was married 
to Jane D' Albert, who had borne him children, 
which was a great obstacle to another marriage. 
The legate, it is true, had intimated that the 
marriage might be easily broken, as Jane was 
heretical : Antoine recoiled before the obstacles ; 
not so Charles of Austria. 

This prince, son of the Emperor Ferdinand, 
had formerly demanded the hand of Elizabeth, 
who, after having hesitated for a long time, ac- 
cording to custom, concluded by alleging consci- 
entious scruples, which would not permit her to 
tolerate in her palace the celebration of idola- 
trous worship.* And this more than strange 

* The emperor had demanded liberty for his son to have a Cath- 
olic chapel. 

13* 



150 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

response disgusted the Austrian prince, who 
thought of the Queen of Scotland on learning 
the death of Francis II. The Cardinal of Lor- 
raine, to whom he applied, favored this demand, 
the success of which would have probably caused 
a triple or even a quadruple alliance between 
France, Austria, Scotland, and Spain. But 
Mary, who, though she reckoned little on the 
friendship of Elizabeth, wished, however, to be 
on good terms with her, believed it proper to 
communicate to her the proposal of the arch- 
duke. Elizabeth's jealousy was reawakened 
more brisk than ever. Cecil devised two plans, 
which were immediately carried into effect. By 
the first, Elizabeth, who believed herself the 
most beautiful woman on earth, was brought 
forward as a rival to Mary : nor did her vanity 
entertain a doubt that the archduke would prefer 
her charms and her crown to those of her Scot- 
tish sister. But was she, the haughty Elizabeth, 
to make the proposal ? Cecil, who every where 
had spies in his pay, treated with the Duke of 
Wirtemberg ; and that prince, as of himself, so- 
licited the emperor to renew the treaty between 
his son and the English queen. But Ferdinand 
answered coldly that the Queen of England had 
already made him the dupe of her selfish and 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 151 

insincere policy ; and that he would not expose 
himself to similar treatment a second time. 

The other plan was to induce Mary, by threats 
and promises, to refuse the archduke. Cecil sent 
Randolph to Scotland, with instructions to read 
to her a long lecture on the choice of a husband. 
Elizabeth, he told her, preferred a single life; 
but was neither surprised nor displeased that her 
younger sister should entertain thoughts of 
marriage. But she should bear in mind, that 
her destined husband should have three recom- 
mendations : he should be one whom she could 
love ; one whom her subjects could approve ; 
and one who was likely to preserve and augment 
the friendship existing between the two crowns. 
Was Charles of Austria such a person ? Would 
he have been proposed by the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine, if he had not promised to be the enemy 
of England ? The Queen of Scotland should 
recollect that the success of her claim to the suc- 
cession depended on the choice of her husband. 

" Whom shall I take, then, for a husband, to 
please Elizabeth ? " exclaimed the queen, whom 
the ambiguity of Randolph's discourse had a 
little ruffled. The envoy replied with a mys- 
terious air that Elizabeth wished her to marry 
an English nobleman ; he declined explaining 



152 LIFF. OF MARY STl'ART. 

himself fm'thor to INLirv, but the great secret 
\vas first revcakxi to the Earl of IVIurray. iNIait- 
hiiid was lUso informed of it, and testitied much 
surprise -when he learned that the Enghsh Kird, 
destined by EUzabeth to share the throne with 
Mary, was no other than Sir Robert Dudley, 
better known afterwards as the Earl of Leices- 
ter. jNIaltland's surprise was natural ; no one 
was ignorant in London or England that Robert 
Dudley was the favored lover of the queen; 
that the most dishonorable reports were in cir- 
culation respecting her conduct ; and that, with 
a cviiical inditVerence for public opinion, Eliza- 
beth took no pains to conceal tlte impropriety 
of her conduct. ^laitland thence concluded that 
Elizabeth did not wish the queen to marry, for 
most assuredly she would not be separated from 
the man who for two years hindered her from 
yielding to the wishes of her subjects. Lastly, 
when this was officially communicated to Mary, 
she answered haughtily tliat the Queen of Scot- 
land, queen dowager of France, could not be- 
come the wife of a mere subject. 

]\rary had too luuch penetration not to divine 
Elizabeth's real design ; but not wishing xo ap- 
pear to reject disdainfully her sister's ofler, she 
added that, after mature reflection, she had 



LIFE OF MaRV STVaRT. 1o3 

decided on maming Sir Robert, on condition 
that Elizabeth would recognize her publicly, and 
cause her to be recognized by Parliament, as her 
heir, in case she died "wdthout children. Mary 
knew that this condition would not be accepted. 

{im.) 

Meanwhile she had partly responded to the 
desires of the Queen of England by refusing, be- 
sides, the archduke, the Prince of Asturia, the 
Dukes of Anjou, Nemours, Orleans, and Ferrara. 
The Earl of Murray entertained the views of the 
Queen of England ; he is represented as aspiring 
to the succession for himself or for his children, 
and was consequently interested in opposing her 
sisters marriage : some even go so far as to say, 
that he had entertained a criminal passion for 
his sister, which, not being sated, was changed 
after^-ards into a dreadful feeling of hatred. 

In the interim, the EngUsh Parliament was 
occupied Tvith the succession ; aU parties had 
agreed that the next heir \s'as to be sought among 
the descendants either of Margaret, the elder, or 
of Mar\', the younger, sister of Henry VIIL : the 
former had espoused James IV.. Kinsr of Scot- 
land, and grandfather of Mary ; the latter had 
been three months queen of France bv her 
marriage vrith Louis XII. : she had after\^-ards 



154 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

married the Duke of Suffolk. Mary was, un- 
doubtedly, the rightful representative of Mar- 
garet ; but there were some who preferred the 
Countess of Lennox, the daughter of Queen Mar- 
garet by her second husband, the Earl of Angus. 
Margaret Douglas — this daughter's name — had 
been brought up at court under the eyes of her 
uncle, who, wishing to reward the Earl of Len- 
nox, who had been the leader of the English 
party after the death of James V., gave her to 
him as a wife, with considerable lands. From 
this maiTiage issued several children, the eldest 
of whom bore the name of Lord Darnley. It 
was represented to Mary that a marriage with 
him would be worthy of her, for the Earl of 
Lennox was a near relation of the Stuarts, and 
his wife was the niece of Henry VIII. Darnley, 
besides, would satisfy the requirements of Eliza- 
beth, since he had been born in her dominions, 
and was heir to the lands which his father held 
of the English crown ; and it would strengthen 
her claim to the succession, since all the rights 
of the descendants of Margaret, in both lines, 
would centre in her and her husband. The idea 
had been first suggested to Mary by the Countess 
of Lennox, and she had adopted it. Not doubt- 
ing that Elizabeth would approve of it, she im- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 155 

mediately informed her of it. But if Elizabeth's 
conduct had been enigmatical before, it became 
from this period inexplicable. On the one hand, 
she wrote to Mary not to admit the Earl of Len- 
nox into her dominions ; on the other, she per- 
mitted the earl to proceed to Scotland, and even 
gave him a letter of recommendation to Mary ; 
and afterwards complained of the gracious recep- 
tion which he had experienced in consequence of 
her own request. In like manner she proposed 
anew Sir Robert Dudley, whom she had created 
Earl of Leicester, that he might appear more 
worthy of a royal consort ; but then she opposed 
a new obstacle to his success, by allowing Darn- 
ley to proceed to the Scottish court, on a pre- 
tended visit to his father. 

Some persons believe that the Queen of Eng- 
land permitted Darnley to proceed to Scotland in 
the hope that his presence at Holyrood would 
ruin him in Mary's opinion. Darnley was of tall 
stature, fine form, and engaging exterior, but he 
had neither penetration, nor wit, nor prudence ; 
and a woman like Mary would perceive herself 
too much his superior to condescend to such a 
union. Elizabeth was mistaken if such was her 
expectation ; Mary was enamoured at first sight, 
and only regarded the exterior. Nevertheless, 



156 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

when, after some days, he made a proposal of 
marriage to her, she reproached him with his pre- 
sumption, refused his proffered ring, and so dis- 
concerted him, that he knew not what to reply ; 
but Elizabeth aided him without being aware of 
it. She wrote imperiously to Mary that if she 
expected to have any inquiry made into her claim 
to the succession, she must either marry Leices- 
ter or engage to remain a widow. 

Mary, on receiving this letter, burst into tears, 
for her good sister'' s object was then divulged: 
Elizabeth neither wished nor intended her to suc- 
ceed to the English crown herself, nor have issue 
to perpetuate her right. But the Queen of Scot- 
land had too much spirit to submit to the dictates 
of a stranger. Thenceforward she beheld Darnley 
with a more favorable eye; and as the advice of 
her friends concurred with her own inclinations, 
she informed Elizabeth that she had resolved on 
sharing her throne with Darnley. Elizabeth was 
revenged upon the Countess of Lennox, in which 
she exhibited much littleness. When the con- 
duct of this great queen — of whom the English 
are so proud — is narrowly examined, very little 
character is manifested. She ordered Lennox 
and his son to return to England, under penalty 
of forfeiture ; and, as if the Catholics were the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 157 

cause of this marriage, it was resolved to treat 
them with additional severity. The unprincipled 
Throckmorton was sent to Scotland, where he 
begged and threatened, yet was not able to sub- 
due the resolution of Mary. He then directed 
his remonstrances to the disaffected lords, and 
stimulated them to rebellion, with the hope of 
assistance from England. 

At the head of the malcontents was the Earl 
of Murray, who opposed his sister's marriage with 
Darnley, either because he felt for her more than 
fraternal love, or because this marriage would 
destroy his hopes. His associates were the Duke 
of Chastelherault, who feared that the marriage 
of the queen with Darnley would give the as- 
cendency to the rival house of Lennox ; the Earl 
of Argyle, who had been compelled to restore to 
the father of Darnley the forfeited property of the 
family ; and many of the lords, who had fought 
under the same standard during the war of 
the reformation. Murray retired from the court 
under the same conscientious scruples which 
Elizabeth had alleged against the Archduke of 
Austria, and a plan was formed to surprise Mary, 
Lennox, and Darnley, confine the first in the 
Castle of Lochleven, and murder the two latter, 
or at least deliver them up to Elizabeth, who, 
14 



158 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

probably, would not have them better treated. 
The Earl of Murray would be placed at the head 
of the new government. 

Mary, having received timely warning of the 
conspiracy to intercept her on the route, escaped 
by departing some hours before the time ap- 
pointed by the conspirators. They, being frus- 
trated in their attempt, repaired to Stirling, where 
they signed a covenant, in which they bound 
themselves by oath for the performance of their 
engagements ; declaring, moreover, that they 
wished to serve their sovereign faithfully — bitter 
decision. The following day they sent a mes- 
sage to Elizabeth to remind her of her promises 
of assistance, and to urge her to fulfil them 
speedily. Mary, on her side, lost no time. On 
her arrival in Edinburgh, she appealed to her 
faithful subjects, and they assembled in such 
large numbers that §he had nothing to fear from 
the conspirators. The banns were published, and 
Darnley, successively created Earl of Ross and 
Duke of Albany, became Mary's consort, (19th 
of July, 1565.) Mary I who, then, has said, that 
in contracting this unlucky marriage, you dug 
the grave of Darnley and your own ! You did 
not know your Scots ; you knew not to what 
lengths almost savage men might be impelled by 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 159 

ambition and a desire for vengeance ; you knew 
not this Elizabeth, who had sworn your death, 
because your life, your existence, as long as it 
lasted, reproached her with her usurpation ; this 
Elizabeth, the falsest, the most perfidious, the 
most inconsistent, and the most deeply corrupted 
of women ! . 

Cecil was disconcerted by the news of the 
marriage. He wished to declare war, but he had 
no pretext ; he determined to threaten and in- 
timidate. A considerable sum of money was 
sent to Murray ; a reenforcement of two thousand 
men reached Berwick ; the Earls of Shrewsbury 
and Bedford were commissioned to act as the 
queen's commissioners, or lieutenants, in the 
northern counties. Bedford was even authorized 
to make — but at his own expense, for*Elizabeth 
was not a prodigal — an incursion into Scotland. 
At the same time, Tamworth, a new envoy, was 
despatched to Mary, furnished with complaints, 
remonstrances, and threats. Tamworth fulfilled 
his mission with so much zeal, that the queen, 
irritated at his audacity, had him arrested and 
confined in the Castle of Dunbar, because he had 
presumed to traverse her dominions without a 
passport. She informed Randolph, that if he 



160 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

continued to intrigue with her subjects, she would 
put him under arrest; she also charged him to 
inform his mistress that the Queen of Scotland 
begged her to be content with the government 
of England, and to leave Scotland to the care of 
its own sovereign. 

This did not suffice to disband Murray's fac- 
tion, which was already in arms. Mary, at the 
head of eighteen thousand men, drove the insur- 
gents before her in spite of the predictions of 
Randolph, who had predicted before the marriage 
that it would cost the life of Darnley, whom 
many of the conspirators had sworn to kill or 
perish in the attempt. " If the queen," — Eliza- 
beth, — he added, "will aid them, they doubt 
not that in a short time one country will contain 
two queens " — by which he intimated that the 
Queen of Scotland would be sent a prisoner to 
England. Murray, avoiding meeting the army, 
rapidly advanced towards Edinburgh, reckoning 
on the insurrection of the inhabitants ; but they 
remained faithful to the queen, and he was con- 
strained to retire, because the castle threatened to 
attack his forces. Pursued without relaxation, 
the insurgents successively evacuated Hamilton 
and Dumfries ; and having no longer any chance 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 161 

of safety, the leaders dispersed their bands, and 
escaped to England.* 

Here the hostile intervention of England was 
too openly exhibited for it to be successfully 
denied ; nevertheless, Elizabeth undertook it. 
When Murray and some of his companions had 
arrived at London, she at first refused to see 
them ; and when she permitted them to appear 
before her, it was in the presence of the French 
and Spanish ambassadors. A comical scene had 
been prepared in advance : Murray and the oth- 
ers, on entering, fell upon their knees before the 
queen, and lying to truth and their consciences, 
declared, in a humble and confused tone, that 
the queen was innocent of the conspiracy, — by 
which they acknowledged themselves guilty, — - 
and had never advised them to disobey their 
sovereign. It was then Elizabeth's part. " Ye 
have now spoken irutlij^ said she ; " get from my 
presence, traitors as ye are." As a reward for 
this meanness, Murray obtained from her a small 
pittance for his support at Berwick, which he 
chose, or which was assigned him, as a residence ; 

* This expedition of the insurgents is called by the characteristic 
name of Run-about raid, which signifies a predatory incursion. It 
is also called the raid of Beith, because the insurgents had desig- 
nated the church of Beith as the first rendezvous. 

14 * 



162 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

he was, however, obliged to say that he received 
it from his Scottish friends ; it was necessary 
that the comedy should be continued even to the 
end. Finally, what happened on this occasion 
happens at all theatrical performances : the spec- 
tators listen, are amused at what they hear, and 
retire fully convinced that they have been only 
present at a play. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MtJEDER OF RIZZIO. — ASSASSINATION OF DAENLEY. 

In triumphing over her rebellious subjects, 
Mary had not overcome all her enemies ; there 
remained to her one more dangerous, more im- 
portunate, in the husband, or rather the tyrant, 
she had chosen. So few interviews had preceded 
the marriage, that she had not noticed any of his 
defects. Experience alone convinced her that he 
was naturally capricious in his temper, violent in 
his passions, implacable in his resentments. He 
had already contracted habits of ebriety, which 
led him occasionally into the most scandalous 
excesses, and made him forget, even in public, 
the respect due to his consort. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 163 

Besides this coarse vice, he was extravagantly 
ambitious, and lacked the necessary courage to 
sustain the acts in which she had engaged him. 
Axso, when Mary convoked Parliament for the 
twofold purpose of attainting, among the rebel 
refugees in England, those who were the most 
culpable, and to obtain liberty of conscience for 
those who professed the same religion as herself, 
Darnley demanded that the Duke of Chastel- 
herault and his relations should be included in 
the attainder ; by that the rival house of Hamil- 
ton would have lost their claims to the succession 
in case the queen had no children, which would 
have rendered him presumptive heir after his 
father. To this demand he added another, the 
object of which had been between the queen and 
himself an endless subject for bickering: he 
wished that the crown matrimonial be granted 
him.* 

* The right which the queen gives her husband to wear the crown 
as herself, and share with her the royal authority, is called the matri- 
monial right. Mary had ordered that the title of king should be 
given him during her life, and that decrees should be drawn up in the 
name of the two consorts, Henry and Mary, King and Queen of 
Scotland ; but this was only mere form, which conferred on Darnley 
no real authority. This crown had been decreed to Francis II., the 
queen's first husband ; and it could not be otherwise, for the dauphin 
of France could not be the subject of his wife. Darnley wished to 
have the same rank, which would have given him the right to govern 



164 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Mary was deaf to the entreaties, complaints, 
and menaces of her husband ; she had ah-eadjSf 
done for him more than he merited, and she was 
determined to refuse this last concession without 
the consent of Parliament. Darnley, being much 
irritated, and imagining that the opposition of 
Mary had been prompted by her counsellors, and 
especially by an Italian, named David Rizzio, 
who, through his knowledge of foreign languages, 
conformity of religious opinions, and amenity 
of manners, had arisen to the post of private 
secretary, swore to have vengeance upon Rizzio,* 

Scotland in case of his wife's death, without, nevertheless, having 
the power to transfer this right to children, whom he might have by 
a second wife. Ix ^vas this crown that the Prince of Orange received 
when he dethroned his father-in-law, and his wife Mary assumed the 
diadem. 

* Rizzio, a native of Piedmont, had come to Scotland in the suite 
of the ambassador of the Duke of Savoy. This minister had recom- 
mended him to the queen, who appointed him one of the pages of the 
chamber, and not a domestic, as some writers have stated. On the 
departure of the French interpreter, RavJet, Rizzio was appointed in 
his place. Adroit, discreet, and faithful, he obtained the queen's 
confidence, who, on her marriage, appointed him keeper of the pri%7' 
purse to the king and queen. It is said that when Darnley aspired 
to the queen's hand, he had sought the friendship or countenance 
of Rizzio, who possessed great influence, and who, it appears, pleaded 
for him. Certain writers have published that Rizzio only pleased 
Mary by his talents for music, — which she loved passionately, — and 
that the humble musician was loved by his royal mistress. This is a 
Bhameful calumny, which the most enraged enemies of this unfor- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 165 

by having him assassinated ; and as the unfor- 
tunate Rizzio was both a foreigner and a Cath- 
olic, which excited the jealousy of courtiers and 
preachers, Darnley thought it would be easy to 
procure accomplices. He sought and obtained 

tunate princess did not dare to assert during her life. It was men- 
tioned for the first time in a letter of the Earl of Bedford to Randolph, 
and in a narrative of this event supposed to have been written by 
Lord Ruthven. But it should not be forgotten that Bedford had 
been sent by Elizabeth to direct and sustain the insurrection upon the 
frontier ; that Randolph, who, despite the formal notice and threats 
of the queen, had continued to intrigue, had been ignominiously ex- 
pelled the kingdom ; that Lord Ruthven was one of the principal 
actors in Murray's conspiracy. Nevertheless, the statement he made 
to Cecil was not published until after his death, from which it may be 
well believed that it was either forged or altered by Cecil himself; 
and he has so constantly given sufficient proofs of his dishonesty, that 
we are justified in attributing a fraudulent alteration or addition to 
him. Besides, Rizzio was old and very ugly ; the queen was then in 
the zenith of her beauty. What likelihood of her forgetting herself 
in this case ? What she loved in Rizzio was his tried devotedness ; 
but a queen need not repay devotedness with love. When, many 
months after, Mary, in full council, summoned Darnley to state unre- 
servedly all his complaints against her, and in which she told him not 
to spare her, Darnley said nothing of Rizzio. Finally, the reformer 
Knox, who, to show the superiority of his doctrines over those of the 
Catholics, seized, Christian-like, all occasions to injure the latter, 
particularly the queen, — this charitable Knox, who would have pur- 
chased at a high price the pleasure of alleging a deed of this kind 
against the queen, has not said a single word in regard to it. From 
all these considerations, we hesitate not to reject as calumnious an 
imputation which nothing otherwise justifies. Mr. Chalmers has 
proved that he was never one of the queen's musicians. 



166 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

them among the lords who had taken part in the 
conspkacy, but who had not betrayed themselves 
by any overt act of cooperation ; of this number 
were Morton, Ruthven, Lindsay, and Maitland. 

The Duke of Chastelherault was pardoned by 
Mary (1556) on the sole condition of passing 
some years on the continent, which excited a 
violent resentment in Darnley. The perfidious 
Maitland, who perceived that his fate was in 
some manner linked to that of the exiles, — a 
single word from whom would accuse him, — 
Morton, and others believed the occasion favor- 
able to induce the king to make common cause 
with them. The first suggestion was made by 
George Douglas, the brother of Morton ; and as 
Douglas knew the king's sentiments with re- 
spect to Rizzio, he insinuated to him that the 
queen had transferred her affections to Rizzio ; 
that it was by the advice of this odious favorite 
that she had pardoned Hamilton, who had retired 
from the kingdom, and that she so persistingly 
refused him the matrimonial crown. Therefore 
the only expedient for him to obtain his just 
rights, was to call to his aid the expatriated lords. 

This thoughtless prince must have known that 
these lords were his enemies, and that if they 
had sought a refuge in England, it was because 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 167 

they wished to take his life, though their project 
had not succeeded ; in spite of such antecedents, 
he did not hesitate to confide in men who only 
opened their arms to stifle him in their embrace. 
Two bonds were prepared and subscribed, the 
one by Darnley, the other by Argyle, Murray, 
Rothes, Boyd, and Ochiltree, in the name of all 
the conspirators. Darnley engaged to prevent 
their attainder, to obtain their pardon, to sup- 
port their religion, and to aid them in all their 
just quarrels ; they to become his true subjects, 
friends to his friends, and enemies to his ene- 
mies ; to obtain for him the crown matrimonial 
during the whole of his life ; for that purpose to 
defend him at all points ; to maintain his just 
claim to the succession in case of Mary's de- 
cease ; to extirpate, or slay, every gainsayer ; and 
to use their influence with the Queen of Eng- 
land in favor of his mother, the Countess of 
Lennox, and his brother. 

These engagements were followed by another 
still more atrocious, in which Darnley avowed 
his determination to bring to punishment divers 
persons, especially an Italian called David, who 
abused the queen's confidence. It is believed 
that the other persons thus devoted to slaughter 
were the Earls of Huntley, Bothwell, and Athol, 



16S LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

liords Fleming and Livingston, and Sir James 
Balfom'. It was said in this infernal bond that, 
in case of any difficulty in pm'suing these indi- 
viduals by lawful means, " to take and slay them 
wherever they might be found." Darnley thence- 
forth bound himself and his heirs to save scath- 
less all earls, lords, barons, and others, who should 
aid him in this enterprise. 

The conspirators carefully circulated reports 
that the evangel was in danger^ that Rizzio was 
.an emissary of the pope, and that Mary had 
signed the holy league, by which, it was pre- 
tended, the Catholic princes bound themselves to 
exterminate the Protestants by a general mas- 
sacre. The fact was, that Mary had received a 
message from the sovereign pontiff, who exhorted 
her, as was meet, to persevere in the faith, rec- 
ommended to her care the Catholics of her realm, 
and besought her to send some Scottish prelate 
to the Council of Trent. But if the conspira- 
tors had only told what was true, they wo aid not 
have succeeded so easily in perverting opinion. 
As the leading members of the Presbyterian 
church were among the conspirators, a proclama- 
tion of the Assembly * appeared, ordering a gen- 

* A convocation, convention, or council of ministers and ruling 
elders, delegated from each presbytery. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 169 

eral fast to be kept from one Sunday to another, 
on the week of the opening of Parliament ; and, 
as if to prepare their minds for scenes of blood, 
or a revolution in the government, the service 
for each day was composed of select lessons 
from the Old Testament, descriptive of the extir- 
pation of idolatry, the chastisement of wicked 
princes, and the visitations of God on his people, 
whenever they neglected the admonitions of the 
prophets. 

On the fourth day of this fast, (Thursday, 7th 
of March,) the queen opened the Parliament. 
The bill of attainder was drawn by the lords of 
the articles ; and the Thursday following was 
appointed for action upon it. But on Saturday, 
Morton, Chancellor Morton, whom party spirit 
had led into the ranks of the assassins, followed 
by eighty armed men, took possession of the 
gates of the palace. Mary, who was in an ad- 
vanced state of pregnancy, was at the time 
seated at table in the closet of her bed chamber, 
with the commendator of Holyrood house and 
the Countess of Argyle, her bastard brother and 
sister, Erskine, captain of the guard, Rizzio, the 
secretary, and Beton, master of the household, 
were in attendance, and not at table with her, as 
malevolent persons have said. The king entered 
15 



170 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

by a private staircase, seated himself next the 
queen, and put his arm around her waist. Lord 
Ruthven, armed cap-a-pie^ - — he had not even the 
corn-age to attack a defenceless man except un- 
der a helmet and cuirass, — followed the king ; 
the master of Kuthven, George Douglas, Ballen- 
tyne, and Kerr came immediately after Ruth- 
ven. Mary, alarmed at the sight of Ruthven, 
ordered him to leave the room, under penalty of 
treason ; but he replied, that his business was 
with Rizzio, who, fearing for his life, sprang be- 
hind the queen, exclaiming, " Jiistitia ! Justitia ! " 
He hoped that the respect due the sovereign 
would protect him against the murderers ; but, 
not regarding the prayers of the queen, nor her 
situation at a time when too much emotion 
might endanger her life, and that of the child in 
her womb, George Douglas, snatching the king's 
dirk, struck over the queen's shoulder, and left 
the weapon sticking in the back of Rizzio. 
Ballentyne, meanwhile, threatened the queen 
herself with his dagger, and Kerr presented a 
pistol to her breast. In the struggle the table 
was overturned ; and the assassins, dragging 
their victim through the bed chamber and ante- 
chamber, despatched him at the head of the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 171 

staircase, and left him pierced with fifty-six 
wounds.* 

Mary's friends, ignorant of the affray in the 
closet, had all hurried to the palace gates to 
oppose the entry of Morton and his band. But 
they were obliged to retreat, and remain in a 
chamber, whence they were not permitted to 
depart until about two in the morning.f The 
queen, dismayed and weeping, had not ceased 
to ask the pardon of her unfortunate secretary. 
When she learned his death, she checked her tears, 
" Now," said she, " is the time for revenge." 

Meanwhile, Darnley, of his own authority, 
dissolved the Parliament the next day, (10th of 
March,) and before evening was joined by Mur- 
ray and the exiles from Berwick. On Monday 
morning all the conspirators met for consultation ; 

* In Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, it is stated that the 
closet and bed chamber are yet in the same condition that they were 
then left in, and that the floor near the private staircase bears visible 
traces of the blood of Rizzio. This may be so, but we do not vouch 
for it. 

t It is contended that Rizzio had received many secret warnings 
of what was plotting against him, and that he had despised them. 
Sir James Melville informed him, to no purpose, of the dangers 
which menaced a foreigner in every country, when he enjoyed the 
sovereign's favor so as to excite the jealousy of the natives. He did 
not regard these warnings, and perished, the victim of misplaced 
confidence. 



172 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and it was determined to confine the queen in 
the Castle of Edinburgh or Stirling, until she had 
sanctioned all their proceedings, established the 
reformed religion by law, and given to her hus- 
band the crown matrimonial, so ardently desired 
by him. In the interim, Murray and Morton 
would govern Scotland in Darnley's name. The 
weakness of the latter, however, made the plan 
miscarry. As fickle as he was violent, pusillani- 
mous as cruel, he was himself frightened at what 
he had ordered. The queen, when alone with 
him, remarking his trouble, remorse, and fear, 
easily resumed the ascendency which strong souls 
have over weak minds, as the famous Eleonore 
Galigai said at a later period in reply to the 
judges who demanded of her what witchcraft 
she had made use of to captivate the mind of 
Mary de' Medici. Darnley, confused and repent- 
ant, promised to remain true to the queen, and 
oppose with her those whom he himself had 
urged to the commission of crime. On the night 
of the 12th, the queen and her husband, attended 
by a single captain of the guards and two 
domestics, escaped together from Holyrood 
Palace, and reached in safety the Castle of 
Dunbar, whence they issued a proclamation, 
which, in a short time, caused a great number 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 173 

of royalists to assemble around their sov- 
ereign. 

Six days after her flight from Holyrood, the 
queen returned towards Edinburgh, and the con- 
spirators trembled in their turn. By an adroit 
act of policy, tending to deprive the murderers 
of their auxiliaries, Mary proclaimed the pardon 
of Murray, Glencairn, and all those who were 
compromised by the run-about raid ; Morton and 
his accomplices fled to England. It is worthy 
of remark, that whilst Elizabeth governed this 
country, no Scot had sought an asylum there in 
vain. No matter what his crime, he was sure 
of finding, if not avowed protection, at least se- 
cret assistance. On this occasion, Elizabeth had 
been informed of the conspiracy some time be- 
fore its execution ; she had even sent three hun- 
dred pounds to Murray on his departure fi*om 
Berwick. The same day on which the king and 
queen escaped from Edinburgh, that noble spy, 
the Earl of Bedford, who was ignorant of this 
circumstance, wrote to Cecil, exulting that "every 
thing now would go well." But when Bedford, 
informed by Morton of the turn things had taken 
through the defection of Darnley, in his turn in- 
formed the queen of it, she hastened to congratu- 
late her sister of Scotland ; and as Mary in 
15* 



174 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

reply required that she should not afford an 
asylum to murderers, this excellent sister ordered 
them to quit her dominions ; but they were 
privately informed that England was large, and 
that they had nothing to fear, if they did not 
obtrude themselves on the notice of the public. 
The Spanish ambassador, Gusman de Silva, in 
the despatches which he transmitted to his court 
at this period, asserts that the murder of Rizzio 
had been decided upon at London; that eight 
thousand crowns had been paid to the conspira- 
tors ; and that Elizabeth's ministers only awaited 
the moment of Mary's dethronement to sub- 
stitute their mistress for her. 

Mary, on resuming power, resumed also her 
indulgent bounty ; and although she knew well 
the part her husband had taken in the murder of 
Rizzio, she affected to accept his justification. 
Unfortunately, Darnley did not amend ; he was 
incapable of appreciating a generous proceeding, 
and misunderstanding continued between the 
two consorts, although Mary appeared perfectly 
reconciled. As the time of her delivery ap- 
proached, she took up her residence at the Castle 
of Edinburgh. Elizabeth and Murray, England 
and Scotland, looked forward with suspense and 
anxiety to the result. Mary might have an heir 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 175 

to her throne and her pretensions ; perhaps, con- 
sidering the distressing scenes through which she 
had passed, the approaching crisis would prove 
fatal. Elizabeth and Murray hoped, desired; 
but Heaven did not permit their wishes to be 
accomplished : the queen was happily delivered 
of a son, and this son lived to reign over the two 
kingdoms. 

Elizabeth had ordered Randolph to tarry in 
the neighborhood of Berwick, and to transmit, 
without the least delay, the news of the event, 
whatever it was ; and Randolph acquitted him- 
self of his commission with his accustomed zeal. 
"When the courier arrived at London, Elizabeth 
was dancing gayly at Greenwich. Cecil imme- 
diately repaired thither, to inform her of the bad 
news which Randolph sent. As if struck by a 
thunderbolt, she dropped into an arm chair, re- 
clined her head upon her hand, and appeared 
for some time absorbed in painful and profound 
thought. One of her maids of honor inquiring 
what was the matter, she replied, passionately, 
" Ah, have you not heard that the Queen of 
Scotland has a fine boy ? and I am but barren 
stock." By the next day her feelings were suf- 
ficiently subdued for her to express the satisfac- 
tion which the happy deliverance of Mary and 



176 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

the birth of her son caused her to experience. 
She even dissembled so far as to accept, with 
great apparent joy, the office of godmother at the 
baptism, and appointed the Earl of Bedford to 
represent her at the ceremony. 

The birth of the Scottish prince, to whom was 
given the name of James, was hailed with joy by 
the numerous advocates of the Scottish line in 
England; many, who had appeared indifferent 
as long as Mary remained childless, came for- 
ward in support of her cause. Elizabeth, jealous 
of the good fortune of her sister queen, earnestly 
resolved to marry, that she also might have issue 
to inherit the crown. But it sufficed that both 
Houses of Parliament addi-essed her on the sub- 
ject that she should only think of it with indig- 
nation. Besides her ordinary irresolution, which 
did not permit her to have any fixed determina- 
tion, Elizabeth much feared death. She did not 
wish the word to be pronounced before her, nor 
any object to be in her presence that might re- 
call to her mind that she must die. It is very 
probable that this was the principal motive which 
prevented her from marrying. Should she have 
children, those children would have been her 
heirs, waiting impatiently for her death ; recalling 
to her mind a hundred times a day and resound- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 177 

ing in her ears those terrible words — her death* 
Nevertheless, the king gained nothing by the 
death of Rizzio. Instead of obtaining the mat- 
rimonial crown, and with it the sovereign au- 
thority, he found himself without power and 
influence, an object of scorn to some and of 
aversion to others. Yet he would have sacri- 
ficed the esteem of every one to have enjoyed the 
supreme rule ; but the queen was less disposed 
than ever to yield him a jot, being convinced in 
advance, that he would make bad use of it. 
Mary, though she might forgive, could not forget 
the outrage which he had offered her. She also 
formed a new administration without taking his 
advice, or rather against his will : to Huntley, 
whom she had appointed chancellor, and Both- 
well, hereditary admiral of Scotland, she added 
her brother Murray, and the Earl of Argyle, who 
had married the sister of Murray. There existed, 
indeed, several causes of dissension between 
Murray and Bothwell ; but she prevailed on them 

* On one occasion, Elizabeth, objecting to marriage^ said, "I will 
not be buried whilst I am living, as my sister was. Do I not know, 
how, during her life, every one hastened to me at Hatfield ? I am 
not now inclined to see such travellers." The meaning of her "not 
choosing that her grave should be dug whilst yet alive," is here ex- 
plicitly defined. Mr. D 'Israeli's opinion, that it was oh nescio quam 
muliebrem impotejitiam, is a shallow subterfuge. 



178 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

to be reconciled, and, at their joint intercession, 
pardoned Maitland, notsvithstanding the warm 
opposition of Darnley. Irritated at being with- 
out influence, he threatened Murray to kill him, 
but soon after absenting himself from court, re- 
fused to return, until the queen had dismissed 
three of the chief officers of state. Darnley even 
declared that he intended to leave the kingdom, 
and the Earl of Lennox, who was unable to dis- 
suade him from this foolish purpose, wTote to 
the queen, at whose invitation he reluctantly 
consented to retm-n to Edinburgh. 

On his arrival, Mary led him before the as- 
sembled council, and, holding him by the hand, 
solicited him to detail his complaints, and not to 
spare her, if she were the cause of offence. Darn- 
ley formally declared that the queen had given 
him no cause for complaint, which caused the 
members of the council to say — as in a copy of 
the statement sent by Maitland to the Arch- 
bishop of Glasgow — that he not only had no 
cause for complaint, but he would, on the con- 
trary, consider himself one of the most fortunate 
princes in Christendom, could he but know his 
own happiness. On his return to Stirling he 
acquainted the queen by letter, that what he com- 
plained of was want of authority and the neglect 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 179 

of the nobility. Mary replied, that the first pro- 
ceeded from his own fault, since he had employed 
the authority with which she first intrusted him 
against herself ; and that he could not expect the 
nobility to love and honor a prince who never 
sought their affection or respect. 

The queen, with the lords of the council, re- 
paired to Jedburgh, to hold the court called Justice 
in eyre* Soon after her arrival she was seized 
with a dangerous fever ; and so slender were the 
hopes of her recovery, that the lords were in read- 
iness to proceed to Edinburgh and regulate the 
government. Darnley would have been, un- 
doubtedly, excluded from power, and the regency 
confided to Murray, in the event of the queen's 
death. On the ninth day, a salutary crisis took 
place, the symptoms became more favorable, and 
she began to recover slowly. We only refer here 
to the Queen of Scotland's sickness, to add 
another example to all those furnished by long 
experience of the efficacy of religious succor in 
every situation of life. By her piety, composure, 
and resignation, the young and beautiful Queen 
of Scotland edified all those who saw her. How 
many reasons had she not to cling to this life, 
from which she appeared about to depart at the 

* A court of itinerant justices. 



180 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

moment of its enjoyment I Ah, she had sacri- 
ficed all she had, all she hoped for, without an 
effort, and without a murmur. She only prayed 
Heaven to accept the sacrifice in expiation of all 
her faults. In letters full of unction, she recom- 
mended her son to the King of France and the 
Queen of England. She conjured the lords, 
whom she had summoned to her bed side, to live 
in harmony with each other, to watch carefully 
over the education of the young prince, and as a 
last favor, she earnestly solicited them to grant 
liberty of conscience to those who professed 
the Catholic faith, — so much calumniated, — in 
which she wished to die ; a holy religion, which 
mitigated the bitterness of her last moments, 
because it taught her to hope in the divine mercy. 
When the queen was sufficiently recovered to 
be able to ride on horseback, she proceeded along 
the banks of the Tweed as far as the Castle of 
Craigmiller. The king, who had only been once 
to see her at Jedburgh, repaired to the castle ; but 
no advance was made towards a reconciliation. 
He was too proud to submit, and Mary had too 
much experience to yield to him. In fact, the 
yet unsteady state of her health, which had prob- 
ably only been altered by chagrin and uneasiness, 
gave her an air of sadness which Darnley mistook 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 181 

for aversion, inspired by himself. He only be- 
came more peevish ; he did not perceive that 
this melancholy, which all the features of his 
wife expressed, was caused by himself : she then 
believed him incorrigible, and was often heard to 
exclaim, weeping, " O that the fever at Jedburgh 
had caused my death ! " 

Murray and Maitland attentively observed the 
moral situation of the queen. As soon as the 
king departed, being well persuaded that the queen 
would willingly agree to a divorce, by which she 
would be separated from a man who had so cru- 
elly offended her, they formed a plan to obtain 
this divorce, subsequently to which they would 
obtain an act of Parliament confirmative of the 
grants made by the queen to many lords. The 
design was communicated to Huntley, the Earl 
of Argyle, and Bothwell, who all approved of it. 
They waited in a body on Mary, when Maitland 
reminded her of the injuries she had received 
from Darnley, and what she had yet to expect 
from him. He spoke of a divorce as the only 
means of freeing herself from slavery, and at the 
same time of delivering the kingdom from a 
prince who might compromise it in future. 

Mary at first discovered no disapprobation of 
the proposal ; her first thought was that of the 
16 



182 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

captive whose chain is broken by a friendly hand ; 
she replied that she would consent to a divorce 
if legally obtained and unprejudicial to her son's 
rights. But reflecting upon the consequences 
of such a proceeding, aware, perhaps, of the re- 
ports in circulation of her liaison with Rizzio, and 
those which were being cnculated of her in con- 
nection with one of the five persons who were pres- 
ent,* she asked if it would not be better for her 

* Mary's enemies appear to believe — for it cannot be possible that 
they believ^e so unlikely a thing — that for two or three months pre- 
vious she had been lining in the most shameful adultery with the 
Earl of Bothwell. This man, whose name was James Hepburn, — 
aged from forty to forty-five years, and head of the powerful house 
of Hepburn, — exercised much authority in the county of Ber\vick 
and in Eastern Lothian ; he had at first declared against reform, and 
assisted the queen regent. "When Mary returned from France, he 
appeared devoted to her cause ; he was at Holyrood when the mur- 
derers of Rizzio arrived there, and he himself was in danger because 
he was believed to be attached to the queen, and wished to hinder the 
conspirators from executing their nefarious project. Mary, naturally 
grateful, showed her good will to those who served her faithfully. 
The reformed preachers, Knox and others, di-ew scandal therefrom, 
or rather an opportunity for creating scandal ; and they did create it. 
But what appearance of truth was in their allegations ? Bothwell's 
morals were very corrupt ; his very licentious conduct was little cal- 
culated to win hearts ; he was slovenly in his habits, vulgar in his 
language, and he was married. Buchanan became the officious echo 
of this malignancy — we say boldly of this calumny; for how can the 
expression given above be reconciled \nth the answer of Darnley to 
his -wife's summons, an answer made in the presence of the lords of 
the covmcil, and reported conformably to the text by Maitland, in his 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 183 

to spend some time in France with her relations. 
" Perhaps," she added, " Darnley, thus abandoned 
to himself, might learn to reform. In any case, 
I wish ye to do nothing through which any spot 
may be laid to my honor or conscience ; and 
therefore, I pray you, rather let the matter be in 
the state that it is, abiding until God in his 
goodness put redress thereto."* 

Mary's answer disconcerted the five lords, who 

letter to the Archbishop of Glasgow. He freely declared that " the 
queen had never given him any cause for discontent." Many other 
documents confirm Maitland's report. The queen's detractors have 
attached much importance to a visit which she made from Jedburgh 
to Hermitage Castle, distant about six leagues. Bothwell, her lieu- 
tenant on the frontier, resided in this castle ; he had been wounded 
in the hand, in attempting to arrest an outlaw named John Elliot of 
the Warren. It is said that she left the very instant she was informed 
of this accident, and Chalmers has proved that she allowed eight 
days to pass before her visit ; and that she went and returned the 
same day, which proves that she spent very little time at the castle. 
In fact, it is very presumable that Mary's visit to Bothwell was only 
for a political purpose. The frontier was infested by Elizabeth's em- 
issaries ; Bothwell was a faithful servant, and she was surroimded by 
suspicious persons whom she durst not trust. Very probably impor- 
tant interests were connected with the arrest of Elliot. It is certain 
that she sent Bothwell " a masse of papers " the next day. 

* There is no doubt of this conversation having taken place. At 
the investigation of the murder of Darnley, Argyle and Huntley re- 
lated it conformably to the text, to prove that Murray was the original 
instigator of the plot. Murray himself did not make any defence, 
and, by passing the charge over in silence, implicity acknowledged 
its truth. 



184 LIFE OF MARY ST^UART. 

had confidently hoped to have gained the queen's 
consent,* and they could not conceive how — 
with all the reasons for hatred and discontent that 
her husband had given her — she had refused 
so determinedly. They then reverted to another 
scheme, which had been previously agitated — 
that of the assassination of the king. Bothwell 
undertook the execution of the crime ; the oth- 
ers obligated themselves to protect him from the 
consequences. Sir James Balfour, who joined 
the five lords, proposed signing a bond, in which 
the king was styled a young fool and a proud 
tyrant ; that the signers were determined to pre- 
vent him from obtaining the rule over them ; 
obligated themselves to remove him by some 
expedient or other ; and that each should regard 
the means employed — be they what they might 
— as his own deed. This instrument was signed 
by Huntley, Argyle, Bothwell, Maitland, and 

* It appears e\ident to us that if she had so far forgotten her duty, 
as Buchanan supposes, the queen, whose passion would have prob- 
ably predominated, would have eagerly seized the proffered means to 
regain her liberty. Besides, can it be supposed that Bothwell would 
not have foreseen and used all the ascendency he would have had over 
her, to gain her consent in advance ? And if she had refused Both- 
well in advance, would he have permitted a proposition to be made 
which he knew would be declined ? We will return to this subject in 
order to justify the memory of the unfortunate Mary from the hor- 
rible imputation of having ordered the murder of her husband. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 185 

Balfour. It is doubted whether Murray added 
his name. He sought to leave an issue by which 
to escape in case of the failure of the project. 
He would neither help nor hinder^ as one of the 
witnesses declared upon the judicial investi- 
gation.* 

From Craigmiller, the queen proceeded to 
Stirling, where the royal infant was baptized. 
Darnley was in the castle, but was not present 
at the ceremony, which was performed with great 
pomp. His absence is attributed to the order 
Bedford had received from his mistress not to 
give him the title of king, and to the court of 
France having instructed its agent, Le Croc, to 
have no communication with him until he was 
reconciled to the queen. The conspirators, sec- 
onded by Bedford, seized this opportunity to ask 
the pardon of Morton and his seventy-six asso- 
ciates. It is well to observe that when the five 
lords proposed the divorce to the queen, they 

* The result of Ormiston's confession — as reported by Laing — is, 
that all the lords who were at Craigmiller, all those who were there 
with the queen, had determined on the death of Darnley. Murray, 
however, always maintained that he signed no bond. The witness, 
Paris, whose deposition was calculated to propitiate Murray, said, 
"7^ ne veult n'ayder ne nuire." Yet that amounts to an acknowl- 
edgment that Murray was privy to the plot, and would place no ob- 
stacle in its way. 

16*- 



186 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

made the return of Morton an indispensable con- 
dition, being assured of his wish to cooperate 
with all the other exiles in any measures they 
determined upon. Mary yielded only to their 
renewed solicitations, and pardoned them on the 
express condition that they should not return to 
Scotland during the two following years. In a 
few days they again solicited in their favor, and 
Mary finally consented for them to return to 
thek native country, provided they did not ap- 
proach within seven miles of the court.* 

Whether Darnley was dissatisfied with this 
measure, which increased the number of his ene- 
mies in Scotland, or that he really feared for his 
life, he immediately left Stu'ling for his father's 
residence in Glasgow. Bothwell and Maitland 
hastened to meet Morton, (1567,) and had a 
secret conference with him at Whittingham, 
near the Lannermoor Hills ; the murder of Darn- 
ley was the subject of their deliberation. On 
separating, Morton proceeded to St. Andrew's ; 
the others returned to Edinbm*gh, accompanied 
by Archibald Douglas, who was soon after re- 
manded by Maitland to Morton with this mes- 
sage ; " Tell the Earl of Morton that the queen 

* George Douglas and Kers were alone excepted from the amnesty. 
Lord Ruthven had died in England. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 187 

"will not hear spoken of what concerns him ; " 
and when Archibald complained of the obscurity 
of these words, Maitland only added, " Go and 
repeat them to the earl ; he will understand you 
perfectly." 

This message, which Archibald Douglas 
thought so unintelligible, is thus explained. K 
Morton's avowals, made at a later period, may 
be believed, he refused at the Whittingham con- 
ference to concur in the execution of the con- 
spiracy against the life of Darnley, unless the 
queen's written order or consent was forwarded 
to him. Bothwell promised him this document, 
and, as he was unable to fulfil his promise, 
Maitland sent the enigmatical message. The 
result of all these odious manoeuvres was, that 
Morton, who feared not to cooperate openly in 
the murder of Rizzio, when he had the king's 
warrant, feared to engage in the murder of the 
king without the queen's warrant ; that Both- 
well, to overcome his scruples, promised him this 
warrant, alleging that the queen would consent 
to the murder, although she knew nothing of it ; 
and that afterwards they would tell him the 
queen would not give the document. It is no 
less certain that Morton was aware of the plot, 
and did not reveal it ; that if he did not act 



188 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

himself, he permitted, or caused to act as hia 
substitute, this same Archibald Douglas, a re- 
formed minister at Glasgow, noted for his auda- 
city, immorality, and frightful libertinism ; that, 
like Maitland, he foresaw that the assassination 
of Darnley would render Bothwell odious to the 
nation ; that the Queen of Scotland, an accom- 
plice or not of Bothwell, would share in the pub- 
lic hatred ; that both would be ruined, and they 
themselves, profiting by their loss, would rise in 
power and share the regency. 

Although it cannot be doubted that Murray 
knew all the details of the conspiracy, he had 
taken the precaution to be absent from Edin- 
burgh some time before its execution, and with- 
drew to the county of Fife, in order to induce the 
Scots to believe that he w^as an entire stranger 
to the acts which would in a short time frighten 
them by their hideous character. 

The small pox happened to be prevalent in 
Glasgow, and Darnley took the infection. Mary 
was soon informed of it, and sent her own phy- 
sician to her husband, with a message that she 
would shortly visit him herself. She fulfilled her 
promise ; their former affection seemed to revive ; 
the generous Mary forgot all the injuries she had 
received from him, and they mutually promised 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 189 

to think no more of the past. As soon as he was 
able to travel, the queen returned with him to 
Edinburgh, and, that he might enjoy a purer air 
than that of the capital, placed him in a house 
belonging to the provost of St. Mary's, known as 
the Kirk of Field. 

The conspirators, noticing that harmony was 
fully reestablished between the two consorts, — 
at least apparently, — began to fear for them- 
selves. In one of those effusions of the soul 
which ordinarily follow a reconciliation, Darnley 
might speak of all that preceded the murder of 
E/izzio ; Mary might, on her part, speak of the 
proposition made to her to be divorced from him ; 
and if the two consorts united their resentment, 
there would be no safety for them in Scotland. 
The queen, indeed, visited her husband daily, 
gave him the most tender marks of esteem, and 
frequently slept in the room under his bed cham- 
ber. It was then urgent on the conspirators to 
hasten the execution of their plan, if they wished 
to prevent their own destruction. 

It was known that the queen had promised to 
be present on the night of the 9th of February, 
at a masked ball in honor of the marriage of two 
of her servants. That night was therefore chosen 
by the conspirators for the execution of their 



190 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

plot. They had procured false keys, by means 
of which they had gained access to the cellar 
of the house through a door in the city wall. 
Thither they transported a great quantity of 
gunpowder, and, after having made the neces- 
sary excavations, placed it under the an- 
gles of the house and especially under the bed 
chamber. 

On the 9th of February, the queen went, as 
usual, to the Kirk of Field, with a numerous reti- 
nue. She remained in her husband's company 
from six until ten or eleven o'clock, and at her 
departure kissed him, and taking a ring from her 
finger, put it on his. She then returned to Holy- 
rood by the light of torches. About two o'clock 
in the morning, Bothwell, wrapped in a large 
cloak, arrived by stealth at Kirk of Field, w^here 
his agents were before him. Two of the latter 
entered the house and fired the train with a slow 
match. As the match burned slowly, it is said 
that the impatient Bothwell, fearing that it had 
become extinguished, wished to enter the build- 
ing to relight it. He was with difficulty re- 
strained, when an instant after the explosion took 
place. The palace and city were shaken, and 
it was soon ascertained that the Kirk of Field 
had been blown up from the very foundation; 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 191 

the corpse of the king and that of his page, Tay- 
lor, were found in the garden, whilst those of 
three men and a boy were buried in the ruins.* 



CHAPTER VII. 

PARTIES FORMED. — THE QUEEN IS CARRIED OFF BY BOTHTVELL, 
AND FORCED TO MARRY HIM. 

This horrible assassination excited grief and 
indignation in Edinburgh. Bothwell was first 
suspected, and as the queen did not withhold 
her favor from him, she herself was not spared. 
To satisfy public opinion, she should have de- 
livered up the malefactors to justice. But did 
she know these malefactors ? Besides, was not 
she herself an accomplice of the malefactors ? 
This is a question which has been keenly dis- 
cussed between Mary's detractors and friends. 

* To explain how the bodies of the king and Taylor had not been 
injured by the explosion, although both were lifeless, many persons 
are of opinion that they were first either strangled or smothered, and 
then thrown into - the garden. Others only say that the bodies were 
preserved from injury by the beds. But how, then, would the beds 
have been found broken to pieces ? and they must have been, since the 
entire building was blown up. Besides, is it not e\'identthat the beds 
lifted by the explosion would have been crushed against the upper 
floors ? — See Mary's statement in Appendix, No. 1. 



192 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

But both have more than once allowed passion 
and feeling to predominate over discussion ; so 
that some in their blind hatred, others in their 
zealous flights, have been equally led into error 
or exaggeration. It should be observed, however, 
that in the murder of Darnley, there was nothing, 
absolutely nothing, in Mary's conduct to engen- 
der a single suspicion ; in her subsequent conduct 
there are facts which may be converted against 
her, although, on the other hand, they are ex- 
plained by the difficulties and embarrassments 
of her position. 

" It is acknowledged by all, that the queen 
acted, at first, as an innocent woman would have 
acted.* She lamented the fate of a husband to 
whom she had been so lately reconciled. She 
expressed a suspicion that it had been intended 
to involve her in the same destruction ; and she 
repeatedly announced her resolution to take am- 
ple vengeance on the authors of so flagitious a 
crime. Her chamber was hung in black ; the 
light of the day was excluded ; and in darkness 
and solitude she received the few who were ad- 
mitted to offer their respects and condolence. 
Letters describing the manner of the murder, 
the state of her mind, and the measures she 

* Dr. Lingard. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 193 

intended to pursue, were written to the foreign 
courts ; and a proclamation was issued, offering 
rewards in money and land for the discovery 
and apprehension of the murderers, with a full 
pardon to any one of the party who would ac- 
cuse his accomplices. ... In Edinburgh, 
inquu'ies were made ; much was discovered to 
implicate Both well and his servants as the actual 
assassins, and the charge was openly brought 
against him in anonymous ' bills,' affixed, during 
the darkness of the night, in the most public part 
of the city. In a few days, the Earl of Lennox, 
the father of Darnley, came forward, and a cor- 
respondence of some interest took place between 
him and the queen. At his request, she sum- 
moned a Parliament : Bothwell and some others 
were accused by him of the murder. But on the 
eve of 'the assize' Lennox wrote from Stirling 
to request an adjournment. . . . The Earl 
of Murray with his usual caution, had solicited 
leave to travel, and, intrusting his interests to 
the care of Bothwell, departed from Edinburgh 
on his way to France. 

" Whatever motives Lennox might allege for 

his absence, it is evident that he was intimidated 

by the superior power of Bothwell, and by the 

association in his support. On this account he 

17 



194 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

had already solicited the mediation of the Queen 
of England ; and Elizabeth instantly despatched 
a messenger to Scotland with a letter, which did 
equal honor to her head and her heart* Had it 
been perused by Mary before the trial, it would 
probably have opened her eyes to the abyss which 
yawned before her ; but there is reason to believe 
that it was not suffered to reach the hands of 
that unfortunate princess until after the acquittal 
of the accused. 

" The provost of Berv\dck, the bearer of the 
letter, had reached Holyrood House at an early 
hour in the morning. But the object of his mis- 
sion was already known ; he was treated with 
incivility, and could procure no one to inform 
Mary of his arrival. After a delay of some hours, 
Maitland took the letter, and returned with an 
answer, that the queen was still in bed, and that 
no one durst disturb her repose. Bothwell im- 
mediately proceeded to the Tolbooth, sm'rounded 
by two hundred soldiers and four thousand gen- 
tlemen. Maitland rode by his side ; Morton 
accompanied him, and supported his cause ; the 

* To her head, in good place ; but to her heart ! We have very 
little faith in the heart of Elizabeth ; the most wicked woman, with 
genius, will affect to have the best heart in the world. Thus it was 
with Elizabeth. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 195 

Earl of Argyle presided as hereditary justiciary 
of Scotland. A motion to postpone the trial for 
forty days was made and rejected ; and as no 
prosecutor appeared, the jury, having heard the 
indictment, returned a verdict in favor of the ac- 
cused. He immediately affixed a paper to the 
cross, in which he reasserted his innocence, and 
offered to fight, in single combat, against any 
native of Scotland, France, or England, who 
would dare to charge him with the murder. 
[Kirkaldi of the Grange, Murray of Tullibardin, 
and Lord Lindsay of the Byres, successively ac- 
cepted this challenge ; but Bothwell always found 
some pretext by which to elude the combat.] 

" To clear herself from suspicion, it was in- 
cumbent on the queen to bring the real assassins 
to justice. This had been remarked to her by 
Elizabeth ; it had been urged in the most im- 
pressive terms by her ambassador at Paris, and 
it had, on more than one occasion, been acknowl- 
edged by Mary herself. But how, her adver- 
saries ask, did she proceed ? She refused the 
reasonable petition of her father-in-law ; she 
granted Bothwell a collusive trial ; and she per- 
sisted in maintaining his innocence on the credit 
of an acquittal, which, to every impartial ob- 
server, furnished additional confirmation of his 



196 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

guilt. Would she have acted in a manner so 
fatal to her reputation, had she not been impelled 
by some powerful motive, such as consciousness 
of crime, or a licentious passion for the person 
of the murderer? In reply, her advocates re- 
mark, that she was a young and defenceless 
woman in the hands of a faction ; that she could 
receive no information, could adopt no measure, 
but through the medium of her council ; and that 
this council was composed of the very persons 
who had planned the murder, or directed its exe- 
cution, or given bonds to screen the perpetrators 
from punishment. It was no wonder, then, if 
under such circumstances, and surrounded by 
such interested and unprincipled advisers, she 
was taught to believe that Bothwell was inno- 
cent, that the accusation had been suggested by 
the malice of his enemies, and that Lennox re- 
quested a delay because he found himself unable 
to substantiate the charge.* 

* We are far from believing Mary guilty of complicity ; but we do 
not believe her here entirely undeserving of reproach. It is verj^ time 
that she was surrounded only by the accomplices of Bothwell ; but 
she was aware that these men had been upon all occasions her en- 
raged enemies ; she should then have been on her guard against 
them. Had she been but an ordinary woman, she would have had 
no means of escaping from the influence of the confederates ; but she 
had shovs-n sufficient determination under other circumstances to 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 197 

" Two days after the trial the Parliament was 
opened, and its proceedings appear to cast some 
light on the real object of those who had pro- 
cured the death of Darnley. Though Mary had 
reigned but a short time, she had already be- 
stowed, at the solicitation of her ministers, two 
thirds of the property of the crown on them and 
their adherents. They held, however, these ac- 
quisitions by a precarious tenure, as the law of 
Scotland gave the sovereign the power of revok- 
ing all such grants at any time, before he or she 
had reached the age of twenty-five years. It 
was known that the late king had expressed him- 
self with much warmth against the improvident 
bounty of his wife. During the preceding April, 
Mary had made a partial revocation ; and, as 

justify one in expecting more from her in the most trying position in 
which she had yet been placed. Why did she, in this case,oppose Len- 
nox ? Lennox and his friends, sustained by the queen, would have 
certainly been supported by the people, who, in spite of the verdict 
of acquittal, obstinately persisted in regarding Bothwell as the real 
assassin of Darnley. Besides, why permit a verdict to be rendered 
in the absence of the accuser, especially when so short a time was 
allowed him to collect his evidence ? (He was notified on the 28th of 
March for the 12th of April.) If Bothwell was actually innocent, 
what had he to fear from a postponed trial ? Alas ! when Mary her- 
self was subsequently accused by Murray, Morton, and Maitland, 
those miserable accomplices of Bothwell, how she regretted not hav- 
ing sho^^^l more determination in aiding Lennox to ferret out and 
convict the murderers of her husband ! 

17* 



198 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

the present was the last year in which she 
could exercise that right, there could be little 
doubt that Darnley, had he lived, would have 
urged her to a general act of resumption. The 
great object of the lords was to take away the 
very possibility of such a measure. In the short 
space of three days, the lands forfeited by Hunt- 
ley were restored, the grants made to MmTay, 
Bothwell, Morton, Crawford, Caithness, Rothes, 
Semple, Herries, Maitland, and others, were con- 
firmed ; and the power of revocation was taken 
both from the queen and her successors. In ad- 
dition, the act abolishing the papal jm-isdiction, 
which had been made by the convention in 1560, 
but had never received the royal assent, was now 
ratified ; but to it was appended, probably to 
silence the objections of the queen, a permission 
for all Scotsmen to serve God according to the 
dictates of their own consciences. 

" The next proceeding unfolds to us another 
and important part of the original conspiracy. 
When Bothwell undertook to murder the hus- 
band, he appears to have demanded, as the price 
of his services, the hand of the widow. On 
the day after the dissolution of Parliament, 
twenty-four of the principal peers, comprising 
as well those who had been distinguished by 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 199 

their loyalty as those who had repeatedly borne 
arms against their sovereign, assembled and sub- 
scribed a new bond. They were made to assert 
their belief of the innocence of Bothwell ; they 
obliged themselves to defend him against all 
calumniators, with their bodies, heritages, and 
goods ; and they promised upon their consciences, 
and as they would answer to the eternal God, to 
promote a marriage between him and the queen, 
as soon as it could be done by law, and she 
might think convenient ; and for that purpose to 
aid him with their votes, their lives, and their 
goods, against all mortals whomsoever. A more 
disgraceful association does not sully the page 
of history. 

" The next day, Mary rode to Stirling. * * * 
On her return, she had reached the Foulbriggs, 
half a mile from the Castle of Edinburgh, when 
she was met by Bothwell at the head of one 
thousand horse. To resist would have been 
fruitless ; and the queen, with her attendants, 
the Earl of Huntley, Maitland, and Melville, was 
conducted to the Castle of Dunbar. On the fol- 
lowing morning Huntley and Maitland were 
liberated ; the queen was detained ten days 
longer ; nor did she leave the walls of Dunbar 
until she had consented to become the wife of 
Bothwell. 



200 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

" To explain this extraordinary transaction, 
her enemies represent it as a collusion between 
the parties. They had long been lovers ; they 
wished to marry ; and a show of violence was 
made to save the reputation of the queen.* It 
is, however, but fair to listen to her own story. 
Mary tells us, that previously to her visit to Stir- 
ling, Bothwell had dropped some hints of mar- 
riage, but received so resolute an answer as 
convinced him that force alone could win her 
consent. On her return towards Edinburgh, he 
seized her person, and conducted her against her 
will to Dunbar. There he renewed his suit with 
more earnestness, conjured her to attribute his 
violence to the ardor of his affection, and laid 
before her the bond of the lords with their respec- 
tive signatures. Mary perused it with astonish- 

* It is worthy of remark that this collusion was not spoken of by 
Mary's enemies until many months afterwards. In their different 
proclamations, and in the act of Parliament against Bothwell, they 
considered her captivity as real, and effected by superior force. To 
prove the collusion, they produced a paper said to have been written 
or signed by her, and purporting to be a license to the lords to sub- 
scribe the bond on the 20th of April. Now, if this license was gen- 
uine, no appearance of force would have been necessary ; she had 
already declared to the whole nobility of Scotland that she was ■\%ill- 
ing to many the earl. If it was not, how can we assent to an hj^pothe- 
sis, the framers of which were compelled to commit an act of forgery 
for its support. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 201 

ment and dismay ; yet her repugnance was not 
subdued. It did not arise, if we may believe 
her own assertion, from any suspicion that the 
earl had been guilty of the murder of Darnley, 
— she had been taught, by all around her, to be- 
lieve the charge groundless and vexatious, — but 
she considered the match unequal, and the pro- 
posal premature ; and she wished, before she 
entered on another marriage, to take the advice 
of her friends, both at home and abroad. She 
had at first cherished a hope that the news of 
the outrage would summon an army of loyal 
subjects to rescue her from her prison ; but day 
passed after day ; no sword was drawn in her 
cause, no attempt made in her favor ; the apathy 
of the lords proved to her that the bond was 
genuine, and that she was a captive in the hands 
of an audacious subject. Bothwell insensibly 
assumed a more decisive tone ; ' nor did he ceise 
till, by persuasion and importunate sute, accom- 
panied with force, he had driven her to end the 
work.'* The meaning of the words 'accompa- 
nied with force,' she has not explained : Melville, 
her servant and fellow-prisoner, assures us that 
it was the violation of her person.f 

* Anderson, I 89, 102. 

f Melville's testimony is corroborated by that of Mary's enemies, 



202 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

" Bothwell now left the fortress ; but it was 
to conduct the captive queen from one prison to 
another, from the Castle of Dunbar to that of 
Edinburgh. Here she pleaded for time, that she 
might obtain the consent of the King of France, 
and of her relations of the house of Guise. But 
his ambition was too impatient to run the hazard 
of delay. The only remaining obstacle, his ex- 
isting marriage with Janet Gordon, sister to the 
Earl of Huntley, was in a few days removed. 
Both had already sued for a divorce, she on the 
ground of adultery in the consistorial, he on that 
of consanguinity in the archiepiscopal court : in 
both a favorable judgment was pronounced ; and 
it was hoped that the objections of the Protes- 
tants would be silenced by the decision of the 
one, those of the Catholics by that of the other. 
Exactly one month after his trial, Bothwell led 
the queen to the Court of Session, where, in the 
presence of the judges, she forgave him the 
forcible abduction of her person, and declared 
that he had restored her to the fuU enjoyment of 
liberty : the next day she created him Duke of 
Orkney ; and having granted a pardon to the 

■who say she was compelled " to become his bedfellow by force, fear, 
and, (as by many conjectures may well be suspected,) by other ex- 
traordinary and mila'n'ful means." 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 203 

lords who had subscribed the bond, was married 
to him by a reformed minister, in the hall of 
Holyrood House, (15th of May.) Still, however, 
she remained a prisoner. Guards continually 
watched the passages leading to her apartments : 
no person could obtain access to her, except in 
the presence of Bothwell ; and the harsh treat- 
ment which she daily experienced convined her 
that she had given herself a cruel and imperious 
master. The unhappy queen was often discov- 
ered in tears. Her present sufferings taught her 
to perceive and lament her past indiscretion : 
she could have no idea of that long train of evils 
with which it was to be followed." 

The foregoing is a very correct narration of 
the facts which preceded, accompanied, or fol- 
lowed the death of Darnley ; and the historian 
whom we have cited allows the reader to draw 
his own conclusion in the great question of Ma- 
ry's culpability. "We will not imitate the Eng- 
lish historian in his reserve, probably caused by 
circumstances of which he should be the only 
judge ; and we fear not to say, with the greatest 
conviction, that it appears demonstrated to us 
that Mary was entirely innocent of the murder 
of Darnley ; but after the death of her unfor- 
tunate consort, she might be reproached with 



204 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

great weakness towards him whom public opin- 
ion had designated as the assassin. 

It is certain that Mm-ray, Maitland, and three 
others, one of whom was Bothwell, proposed a 
divorce to her ; that at first the idea of recover- 
ing her liberty pleased her ; but a moment after 
she repelled the insidious offer, and in so per- 
emptory a manner, that this first plan of the con- 
spirators was abandoned, and they resolved upon 
a second, the mm-der of Darnley. Now, we ask, 
can it be belived that there exists, that there 
could exist, a woman, who, dissatisfied with her 
husband, and able to be separated from him by 
a legal divorce, would choose rather to be sep- 
arated by assassination ? If we then reflect 
that this woman had been educated with much 
care, that she was firmly attached to the Catholic 
religion, and that she was queen, the thing will 
appear yet more unlikely. The pages of history 
are full of examples of divorce between sover- 
eigns : how many marriages have been annulled 
on account of relationship, distant enough ! 
Mary Stuart and Darnley were both grandchil- 
dren of Margaret, sister of Henry VIIL, and 
consequently cousin-germans. Supposing that 
Mary had had any scruple about pronouncing a 
divorce, as contrary to her religious • principles, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 205 

this scruple would have vanished before a de- 
cision of the church pronouncing the nullity of 
the marriage. But to refuse a divorce and order 
assassination ! that would be too horrible ; it 
would be necessary to be a tiger in wrath, and 
Mary was only reproached with exhibiting too 
much goodness. We do not hesitate, then, to 
say thatit is false that Mary knew of the second 
plan of the conspirators, and still more so that 
she aided it. 

The lords themselves, before concluding on the 
assassination, had endeavored to obtain what 
they desired by more pleasant means — to deprive 
Darnley of the power to injure them ; and for 
that purpose he must either be reduced to his 
former station or be assassinated. Darnley had 
blamed his wife much for having alienated, by 
concessions, the greater part of the royal domain. 
He urged her to revoke those grants. The di- 
vorce would have left Darnley without influence, 
and Mary's liberal disposition was well enough 
known to allow the belief that, left to herself, 
she would by no means dream of using her priv- 
ilege : should this fail, it would be necessary to 
use some other means. And what the lords 
would have done — prefer divorce to assassina- 
tion — Darnley's consort, the queen, would not 
18 



206 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

have desired I she would have preferred assas- 
sination to a divorce ! No, it is not possible; 
Mary was not bloodthirsty. 

If Mary had absolutely wished the death of 
her husband, would she not have made use of 
other means than that employed ? Darnley was 
ill, the small pox often very dangerous or mortal. 
Instead of sending him her ph3^sician, of repair- 
ing herself to Glasgow to administer to his com- 
fort, would she not have permitted the malady 
to take its course, to which, perhaps, he would 
have succumbed ; and if nature triumphed over 
the disease, could she not have found in Scot- 
land some infamous Locuste, whose black art 
would have struck the victim, without leaving it 
to be seen by what hand the blow was given? 

We should not forget that Mary had passed 
the evening with her husband ; that from thence 
she had gone to the ball, where she remained 
until the explosion took place. "What ! it would 
have been with an infernal project in her soul, 
her heart filled with an execrable desire, that 
Mary would have appeared at this place of 
amusement ! By taking part in a fete given on 
the occasion of a marriage, she would have per- 
formed the overture in the execution of a crime, 
by which her own marriage would be destroyed. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 207 

No ; SO much villany enters not suddenly into 
the human heart. 

We do not believe that Bothwell was loved 
by the queen during Darnley's life, but it appears 
to us that she was aware of his love ; perhaps 
she had shown him marks of gratitude, which 
Bothwell, in his presumption, took for a more 
tender feeling. When public opinion accused 
Bothwell of the crime, she might have been igno- 
rant of it, for she only knew what passed abroad 
through the medium of Bothwell's associates ; 
but the moment Lennox appeared as his accuser, 
her duty, we have akeady said, was to join him. 
It is possible that she did not believe Bothwell 
guilty ; but he was accused, and an innocent 
person is seldom accused. Mary must have at 
least doubted, and in so grave a matter her 
doubts should have been resolved. A verdict of 
acquittal awarded in the absence of proof, be- 
cause the accuser has not had time for prepara- 
tion, proves absolutely nothing in favor of the 
innocence of the accused; the precipitation with 
which the verdict was rendered, the force dis- 
played by Bothwell, and the peremptory defect 
in the examination, are, on the contrary, veritable 
charges. 

And Mary consented to become the wife of 



208 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

such a man ! O, let us commiserate, deplore the 
blind passion which inveigled her. It is, un- 
doubtedly, probable, that when Bothwell held her 
captive in the Castle of Dunbar, he used violence 
towards her, which violence was yet another 
crime ; and when he conducted her to the court 
of assizes, that she might declare that she par- 
doned him, she should have demanded revenge ; 
she should have remembered that she was a 
queen, only three months a widow, and that he, 
whom she loaded with favors, had been accused 
of murder, and was not exculpated. 

We will say no more on this point, as it is 
the only stain on the whole life of Mary, and she 
expiated it so painfully that we have only place 
in our heart for compassion. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CONSPIRACY AGAINST BOTHWELL AND MARY. SHE IS CON- 
PINED IN A CASTLE, EROM ■WHENCE SHE ESCAPES. — SHE 
SEEKS AN ASYLUM IN ENGLAND, AND FINDS ONLY A PRISON. 

Of the twenty-four lords who signed the bond 
in favor of Bothwell's marriage, there were many, 
who, though not in the secret of the murder, had 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 209 

been induced to do so through fear or interest ; 
but when they saw that, in contempt of the clause 
added to the recommendation they had made 
the queen to marry Bothweli,* he had violently 
possessed himself of her person, they repented of 
their condescension, and held many meetings 
to concert measures to wrest from Bothweli his 
usurped power. Those who had been privy to 
the plot, such as Morton and Maitland, were also 
convinced, that unless they joined the former in 
overthrowing Bothweli, they would be regarded 
as his accomplices, and made to share his in- 
famy. The Earls of Morton, Marr, and Athol, 
Lords Home, Semple, and Lindsay, the Lairds 
of Tullibardin and Grange, met at Stirling, and 
were joined by the Lords of Montrose, Glencairn, 
Kuthven, and Sinclair. 

Receiving timely warning of their project, the 
queen and her husband escaped by a rapid flight 
to Dunbar-t The conspirators then took the 

* This clause was thus expressed: "As soon as it could be done 
by law, and she might think convenient." 

■f Laing, nevertheless, relates, according to a letter of Beton, that 
Bothweli escaped in the morning from Borthwick, whereas Mary re- 
mained there all day, and at night rode away in male attire, and was 
met by Bothweli at a short distance, who conveyed her to Dimbar. 
If this is true, it proves that the queen was unwilling to be separated 
from Bothweli. 

18* 



210 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

road to Edinburgh, and entered masters of it. 
They immediately published a proclamation, in 
which they accused the earl of the mm-der of 
Darnley, the treasonable seizui'e and marriage 
of the queen, and an intention of gaining posses- 
sion of the young prince, that he might murder 
the heir apparent, as he had already murdered 
his father. A few days after, (15th of June,) 
Bothwell, having collected his friends, met the 
numerous body of insurgents on CarbeiTy Hill, 
a short distance from the capital. The two 
armies remained in sight from nine in the morn- 
ing until night. The French agent, Le Croc, 
interposed his mediation. It is said that the 
queen would have given the signal to engage, 
but amongst those who had taken arms in her 
defence, there was a great number who were 
little disposed to fight for Bothwell. She was 
aware that the Hamiltons had levied troops to 
come to her assistance, but they were yet far off. 
The queen then offered a full and general pardon 
to the insurgents, provided they disbanded their 
forces : they replied, requiring of her to come over 
to the nobility, and leave Bothwell to suffer the 
punishment of his crime. 

It appears that the queen would not consent, 
by which her cause was ruined. Bothwell offered 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 211 

to fight in single combat with Morton, or any 
one of his accusers. His challenge was accepted ; 
but Bothwell, taken at his word, found some 
means to release himself without drawing his 
sword. At length it was agreed that Bothwell 
should retire without molestation ; that the queen 
should return to Edinburgh, and that the con- 
spirators should pay to her that honor and obedi- 
ence which was due to the sovereign. After the 
departure of Bothwell, she gave her hand to Kir- 
kaldy of Grange, and was by him conducted into 
the midst of his colleagues ; in whose name Mor- 
ton, bending his knee, said, " This, madam, is 
the place where you ought to be ; and we will 
honor, serve, and obey you, as ever the nobility 
of this realm did any of your progenitors." This 
was but bitter derision, for her dethronement and 
the establishment of a regency had been already 
determined upon ; and it is evident that Both- 
well, in defending himself, would not have failed 
to accuse Murray, Morton, Maitland, and others.* 

* Some days after, to satisfy public opinion and qui*et the murmurs 
caused by the impunity granted to Bothwell, the confederates pretend- 
ed to pursue him. It was ascertained that he had taken refuge at Ler- 
wick, upon the sea shore, and Kirkaldy of the Grange was sent from 
Edinburgh to Lermck with two vessels ; Bothwell's vessel left the 
bay as Kirkaldy was entering it. Not daring to return to Scotland, 
and likewise fearing that he would be delivered up by the continental 



212 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

An hour had scarcely elapsed, when the queen 
perceived that she was a prisoner in the hands 
of her inveterate enemies. On entering Edin- 
burgh, she was met by an excited populace ; her 
ears were assailed with frightful imprecations, 
whilst before her eyes was waved a banner, rep- 
resenting the inanimate body of her husband, 
and her son on his knees, exclaiming, " O my 
God, revenge my cause I " The queen expected 
to be conducted to the palace ; but they lodged, 
or rather confined, her in a chamber of the house 
of the provost, with orders that no one, not 
even her maids, should have access to her. For 

powers, Botliwell, it is said, became a pirate — a noble manner of 
crowning his life. Danish vessels haAing attacked and forced h i m to 
yield, he was conducted to the Castle of Mahnay, where he was closely 
confined. He died there in November or December, 1607. We are 
assured that upon his death bed he acknowledged himself guilty of 
the assassination of Darnley, designating MvuTay and Morton as his 
accomplices ; he added, that the queen was wholly innocent of the 
crime. This declaration fi-om such a man as Bothwell would deserve 
little confidence, were it not confirmed by a thousand other presiunp- 
tions from higher som-ces. It is less easy to prove that Mary was 
not informed by Bothwell himself, when he was in power, of his com- 
mission of the crime. If Bothwell acknowledged it, Mary had not 
the same horror for the murderer that the Empress Eudoxia had for 
the assassin of Yalentinian, her husband. This parvenu to the em- 
pire, after having assassinated the emperor, and compelled the em- 
press to marry him, boasted of what he had done. Eudoxia incited 
the Vandals to come to Rome, and Maximus was stoned to death by 
the people. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 213 

twenty-two hours the unfortunate queen was a 
prey to the most lively anguish. From the street 
she was often seen at the casement of the cham- 
ber calling upon the citizens of Edinburgh to 
come to her assistance, and, bathed in tears, and 
her hair and clothes in disorder, conjuring those 
who could hear her to deliver her.* 

The insurgents, before putting their project 
into execution, had sought to secure the coopera- 
tion of the Queen of England, but she formally 
refused to send them troops ; she only permitted 
the Earl of Bedford to stop at Berwick and from 
thence protect the insurgents ; but Cecil went 

* In Keith's old English may be read the description of the de- 
plorable state in which the monsters — who knew well that she was 
innocent of the murder, since it was their OAvn work — left the un- 
fortunate Mary during the night of the 16th and all the next day ; 
they affected to treat her with so much cruelty only to make the peo- 
ple believe that they were firmly persuaded that she was guilty, and 
thus avert from themselves any suspicion which might be directed to- 
wards them. " Sche came yesterday to ane windo of hir chalmer, 
that lukkit on the hiegait, and cryit forth on the pepill, quhow sche 
was haldin, and keepit be hir awin subjects, quha had betrayit hir. 
Sche came to the said windo simdrie tymcs in sa miserable a stait, 
hir hairs hangand about hir loggs, and hir breest, yea the maist pairt 
of all hir bodie, fra the waist up, bair and discoverit, that na man 
could luk upon hir bot sche movit him to pitie and compassion. For 
my ain part I was satisfeit to heir of it, and meight not suffer to 
see it." According to Laing, Mary accused Maitland and Kirkaldy ; 
Randolph, who is surely not suspected, reproached them with it very 
plainly. 



214 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

much farther, and, although he made no exact 
engagements, he urged the confederate lords with 
all his influence to overthrow Bothwell, if they 
did not wish to be considered his accomplices. 
When Elizabeth, however, learned what was 
passing, she appeared very much incensed. The 
insult offered to the Queen of Scotland was, she 
contended, common to every crowned head ; it 
resulted from the doctrines of Knox, which she 
had so often condemned : it required immediate 
and exemplary punishment, that subjects might 
learn to respect the persons of their sovereigns. 
She sent Throckmorton to Scotland to demand 
Mary's liberation, to pray the queen to pardon 
the rebels, and to ask formally that the young 
prince should be confided to his godmother and 
sent to England, as the only place where his life 
would be in safety. 

This was, perhaps, the only time that Eliza- 
beth was sincere ; and unfortunately, the perfid- 
ious Cecil rendered of no avail the good wishes 
of his mistress. When Throckmorton arrived 
in Edinburgh, the queen was no longer there. 
The conspirators, w^ho had remarked among the 
citizens and mechanics of the capital a return of 
affection for Mary, — a return caused by her 
lamentations, and perhaps by the barbarous treat- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 215 

merit she had to undergo, — judged it apropos 
to remove Mary from the capital, as the only 
means of preventing the reaction which they 
feared. About nine o'clock in the evening, on 
the day after that on which Morton had sworn 
on his knees to serve and obey her, she was con- 
ducted to Holyrood, whence, in about an hour, 
they transferred her under escort to the Castle of 
Lochleven, situated in the middle of a lake. 
Morton rode on one side of the queen, the Earl 
of Athol on the other ; and at some distance 
from Edinburgh, they delivered her to the custody 
of Lindsay and Ruthven, by whom she was led 
to prison. The castle belonged to William 
Douglas, uterine brother of Murray, and heir 
presumptive to Morton. 

Throckmorton implored the queen's liberty, 
yet consented to wait for an answer until all the 
lords should be assembled at Edinburgh. He 
then asked permission to see the queen, but ac- 
quiesced in a refusal when informed that a 
similar request from the French ambassador had 
been refused ; but whilst letters passed between 
him and Cecil, the lords devised three instru- 
ments, which were forwarded to the brutal Lind- 
say for the queen's signature. The first con- 
tained her abdication in favor of her son ; the 



216 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

second, Murray's appointment to the regency ; 
and the third, the appointment of a council of 
lords to govern the kingdom in case of the ab- 
sence or death of the regent. With Lindsay 
was sent Robert Melville, with letters both from 
Throckmorton and some of the conspirators, who 
pretended to be her secret friends^ advising her 
to consent without hesitation, because no deeds 
executed under such circumstances could be con- 
sidered binding in law. That was true, but the 
confederates confidently hoped that her situation 
would never change. 

She had not yet read all these letters when 
Lindsay entered abruptly and presented her the 
three instruments, ordering her to sign them, if 
she did not wish to perish on the scaffold as the 
assassin of her husband. The unhappy queen 
burst into tears, but the insensible Scot was not 
aflfected by her tears ; so that, believing her life 
threatened, she took the pen and signed. " They 
threatened to kill me if I did not sig-n,^^ {lis m''ont 
menacce de me tuer, sije ne sygnoys^) wrote Mary 
herself, a short time after. The prince was 
anointed and crowned immediately after the sig- 
nature, and Murray hastened to leave France, 
v/hither he had repaired before the sentence of 
Bothwell. But before assuming the regency, he 




BELIEVING HER LIFE THREATENED, SHE TOOK THE PEN AND SIGNED. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 219 

visited the queen in her prison, that he might say- 
that the queen had conjured him to accept the 
regency. Murray owed every thing to his sister ; 
she had pardoned his revolt, she had returned 
favors for his ingratitude. When his arrival was 
announced, she believed for an instant that she 
had reclaimed him to her, and a gleam of hope 
illumined her heart. But in vain did she load 
him with tender caresses, in vain she wept, in 
vain she bathed his hands with her burning tears. 
Murray was armed with rigor, harshness, bar- 
barity ; he loaded the unfortunate woman with 
reproaches, and — what can be neither written 
nor read without indignation and disgust — this 
miserable Murray, the principal instigator of 
Darnley's assassination, durst show his sister the 
bar and the scaffold in perspective. The next 
morning he again saw her, and this time appeared 
to pity her misfortunes ; and the poor Mary, em- 
bracing him with every effusion of gratitude, 
conjured him to accept the regency, the only 
means, she said, of saving her own life and that 
of her son. It was to draw from his sister this 
request that Murray had appeared to relent after 
having terrified her by his gloomy threats. He as- 
sented, after several refusals ; and, before leaving, 
he recommended her to use great circumspection, 



220 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and particularly not to attempt to escape, or 
raise any disturbance against the government, as 
it would be then out of his power to screen her 
from punishment. In a note which he addi'essed 
(22d of August) to the ambassadors of foreign 
powers, he states that, moved by the tears and 
prayers of his sister, no less that through obedi- 
ence to her^ he had consented to be burdened 
with the weight of the regency. 

The confederates, after the example of Murray, 
made public declarations, which they often re- 
newed, and in which they called falsehood and 
deceit to the aid of their disingenuous conduct, 
to palliate all that was odious in it. They pre- 
tended they had offered Mary to obey her as 
their sovereign, provided she would abandon 
Bothwell to justice ; that, upon her refusal, they 
had placed her in confinement, hoping that re- 
flection would wean from her heart that guilty 
passion .she had indulged ; but instead of exhib- 
iting signs of repentance, her obstinacy only 
seemed to increase, which endangered the safety 
of the young prince, of the lords, and of the 
state. Mary replied to these allegations by a 
manifesto, in which she proposed a convention 
of the three estates, to submit to them the ques- 
tions of the punishment of the murderer, and 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 221 

the validity of her marriage, promising to abide 
by their determination. It should be remarked 
that Throckmorton had been ordered to request 
this reunion of the three estates, but his request 
would not be heard. 

It was only at the end of some months, (4th 
of December,) when a resolution was taken to 
accuse Mary of adultery and murder, that an 
important discovery was spoken of for the first 
time, which was, however, said to have been 
made as soon as the 20th of June. It concerned 
a silver casket which Mary had inherited from 
her first husband, and which, it is said, she had 
given to Bothwell : this casket, according to 
Morton, who had become the possessor of it, was 
taken upon the person of a servant of Bothwell, 
named Dalgleish, and in this casket — this is 
Morton's statement — many letters from Mary 
to Bothwell, in her own handwriting, were found, 
proving an intimacy between them prior to the 
death of Darnley, and the consent of the queen 
to this death, and successively her marriage with 
the murderer.* The act of accusation was based 
upon the pretended result of the letters, and 

* We will in another place revert to these letters, which, it is evi- 
dent, were fabricated by Murray and his associates, and which the 
queen asserted were false. 

19* 



222 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Parliament adopted it without discussion, on 
the 10th of the same month ; to this act was 
added another forfeiture against Bothwell. Let 
us remark, however, among the offences charged 
against him, this one : " The violence he em- 
ployed, contrary to law, to compel his sovereign 
to marry him." 

This Parliament, the worthy precursor of the 
Long English Parliament, and of the French Na- 
tional Convention, was so blinded by hatred that 
it was not perceived that the two acts were 
irreconcilable. If the letters upon which the 
first act was based were genuine, if she really 
entertained secret relations with Bothwell before 
the murder, it is fully evident that her removal 
and marriage were voluntary, and that Bothwell 
had had no need of using violence. Neverthe- 
less, the fact of violence having been used ap- 
peared fully established, by all the documents 
emanating from the confederate lords since they 
had taken up arms ; it was only to deliver the 
queen from acts of violence that they had re- 
united ; whence followed the natural result, that 
the letters were not genuine. Otherwise, was 
there ever a more iniquitous manner of proceed- 
ing known ? When the guilt of the vilest crim- 
inal is wished to be established by papers attrib- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 223 

uted to him, those papers are produced in his 
presence, he is allowed to disprove them if he 
can, and it is only when their authenticity has 
been fully established that they are admitted as 
evidence. Here, not only was she condemned 
without a hearing, but condemned on the evi- 
dence of letters which had not been avowed, and 
which bore on their face unequivocal signs of 
forgery. 

Meanwhile the queen still groaned in close 
confinement, under the jealous eye of Lady 
Douglas, the mother of the regent, and the strict 
surveillance of Sir William Douglas, the propri- 
etor of Lochleven. There Mary seemed totally 
forgotten ; in vain, to recover her liberty, had she 
offered Murray and the council to ratify all their 
acts. They had resolved that she should never 
leave her prison alive. Nevertheless their will 
was not to be accomplished, and her beauty, 
affable manners, and even her misfortunes were 
resources which her enemies could not deprive 
her of. George Douglas, the brother of William, 
being moved with pity at the sight of so many 
misfortunes, and from compassion to a more ten- 
der sentiment, undertook to effect her escape, 
even at the peril of his life. By previous con- 
cert with Beton, a trusty servant of the queen, 



224 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

who remained in a village adjacent to Lochleven, 
a laundress was introduced into the queen's 
chamber, who immediately exchanged clothes 
with the woman, and carrying on her head a 
bundle of linen, fortunately left the castle, and 
took a seat in the bateau which had brought the 
laundress, (25th of March. 1568.) Unfortunately, 
one of the rowers, with all the urbanity of a 
sailor of the 16th century, wished to put his hand 
beneath her muffler, when, to protect herself from 
this indiscreet act, she raised her arm, regardless 
of the consequences. One of the rowers imme- 
diately exclaimed, " That is neither the arm nor 
the hand of a washerwoman." Mary, being 
recognized, was conducted back to the castle ; 
George Douglas was obliged to fly to escape 
the wrath of his brother and the regent ; but he 
confided the success of the thwarted scheme to 
an orphan boy of sixteen years of age, a relation 
of the Douglas family, known as the little 
Douglas. 

Lady Douglas and Sir William redoubled 
their vigilance ; the former carried with her every 
evening while she supped the keys of the castle, 
and took great care to take them to her chamber. 
Five weeks had already elapsed since George's 
attempt ; the youth was not suspected, and the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 225 

keys were laid upon the table whilst Lady Doug- 
las took her supper. The youth adroitly took 
the keys, called the queen and one of her maids 
named Kennedy, led them without accident out 
of the castle, locked the door after them, and 
threw the keys into the lake. The two fugitives 
entered a bateau, which had been in readiness for 
some days ; the preconcerted signal was given, 
and the oars being vigorously plied across the lake, 
they arrived safely on the beach, where they were 
received by George Douglas and Beton. Mary 
slept that night at Niddry, in a house belonging 
to Lord Seaton, and the next day at an early 
hour repaired to Hamilton Castle. There her 
first act v/as to rev6ke the resignation of the 
crown, which had been violently forced from her 
in the prison of Lochleven, (3d of May.) The 
news of the queen's deliverance spread with 
rapidity through the whole of Scotland, and the 
people received her with enthusiasm ; for though 
easily led away, if left to themselves, they sel- 
dom fail to return to justice in a short time. All 
revolutions, in which the people serve only as 
the instrument, actually profit but a small num- 
ber of individuals. The Scottish people knew 
well that Morton, Maitland, and all the other 
lords had only wished to overthrov/ Bothwell to 



226 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

divide the spoils, and that Murray had only- 
accused his sister to obtain the power and reign 
in the name of a two-year-old infant. On the 
other hand, the people remembered the beauty, 
grace, and goodness of Mary; her misfortunes 
also pleaded for her ; as to her errors and wrongs, 
she had sufficiently expiated them. 

The royalists crowded from all parts around 
their sovereign, who, in five or six days, was at 
the head of a numerous confederacy ; nine earls, 
nine bishops, eighteen lords, and an infinite num- 
ber of gentlemen, offered her their congratula- 
tions and services. It was then only, says An- 
derson, that the queen was informed of the whole 
truth relative to the murd^ of her second hus- 
band and the guilt of her third ; she also offered 
her brother, who happened to be at Glasgow, to 
submit the cause of all their dissensions to a free 
Parliament, and to deliver up to justice any per- 
son whom he accused of the murder of Darnley, 
provided he would act likewise with those whom 
she might accuse. Morton and Maitland, much 
alarmed, proclaimed all of Mary's adherents trai- 
tors ; and Murray, fully determined to maintain 
his usurpation, collected a small but disciplined 
band of followers. Followed by Morton, whose 
military talents he was acquainted with, and 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 227 

Kirkaldy, a warrior of tried valor, he took a po- 
sition on the heights of Langside, (13th of May,) 
at the base of which the queen must pass on her 
way to Dumbarton. 

The Hamiltons, who formed the vanguard of 
the royalist army, consulting only their zeal, 
charged to force a passage. Their attack was 
fierce and the defence obstinate ; the victory was 
undecided when Morton attacked the royalists in 
flank. This manoeuvre, being vigorously exe- 
cuted, decided the contest, and the royalist army 
was completely routed. The queen beheld from 
Crookstone Castle the evil success of her arms, 
and fearing that she would be retaken by her 
enemies, she immediately mounted on horseback, 
and, accompanied by Lord Herries and several 
servants, rode, without stopping, to the abbey of 
Dundrennan, in Galloway, sixty miles from the 
unlucky field of battle. She was hotly pursued, 
but not overtaken.* 

The next evening she resumed her flight, and 
the morning after declared her intention of seek- 
ing an asylum from her good sister of England. 
Her friends in vain opposed this fatal determina- 
tion ; they recalled to her mind the causes of 
rivalry which existed between her and the Queen 

♦ See Appendix, No. 2. 



228 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

of England, the constant bad faith of the latter, 
the assistance she had not ceased to furnish to 
the Scottish rebels, and the jealousy which had 
marked all her proceedings. They showed her 
that it was easy to cross to France, where she 
would be sure of finding, if not actual immedi- 
ate assistance, at least the most favorable recep- 
tion. Mary was immovable : it has been said 
an invisible hand impelled her to her own ruin. 
The Archbishop of St. Andrew's conjured her, on 
his knees, not to persist in a project the lament- 
able consequences of which he foresaw; Lord 
Herries and others joined the prelate. Mary ap- 
peared convinced by the letters of Elizabeth to 
her, that she would find protection, safety, and 
benevolence in England. She had received from 
Queen Elizabeth, long previously, a diamond 
ring, with the assurance that this ring would be 
a sign of alliance between the two sisters; and 
that if the Queen of Scotland ever needed assist- 
ance, she would only have to send her the ring. 
It was the means Mary took; Beton set out for 
London, commissioned by Mary to present the 
ring to the queen, whilst Mary herself, crossing 
the Solway Frith in a fishing boat, landed almost 
alone in the harbor of Workington, (16th of May,) 
whence she proceeded to Carlisle. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 229 

Mary's arrival in England was regarded by- 
Cecil as a great victory ; the prey which they 
had so long hunted had at last voluntarily cast 
herself into their toils ; it was only necessary that 
she should be disengaged from them. But how 
he could give to his inimical designs an appear- 
ance of justice, was a grave mxatter of discussion 
in the council. To permit Mary to proceed to 
the continent, or obtain the assistance of a for- 
eign prince, would be to risk all the advantages 
obtained by the treaty of Leith ; if it was advisa- 
ble to restore her the Scottish sceptre, it ought to 
be by Elizabeth's influence alone, and under re- 
strictions which would leave her only a nominal 
authority ; but to detain her in captivity for life 
would be the most conducive to the interest of 
the Queen of England and that of the reformed 
religion. Cecil was commissioned to accomplish 
this object. 

As to the queen, it would be difficult to say 
what was her real intention ; for she changed so 
often in this affair as in others, that it may be 
boldly affirmed that she was never of the same 
opinion more than a single day. When she was 
informed of the revolt of the confederates, she 
favored Mary's cause, because the insmTection 
of the Scottish lords might prove a bad enough 
20 



230 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

example for the English lords. In defending 
Mary, she indirectly defended herself; she de- 
manded her liberty, and even refused to Murray 
the title of regent, and to the young prince that 
of king; but her minister rendered illusory all 
the measures she ordered to be taken, and acted 
nearly in an inverse sense. She was well aware 
that the Scots had complied with nought of what 
she had demanded, and she did not appear to 
notice it ; all her zeal was extinguished ; the 
ministers did as they listed, and Mary remained 
a prisoner. She now only saw in a proscribed 
princess, who asked an asylum of her, an odious 
rival, who had claims to her own crown, and 
who was her superior in beauty, if her friends 
must be believed ; who was at least undeniably 
younger ; who had a son, who would, one day, 
probably, occupy the English throne : she would 
not receive her as a friend ; she would let Cecil 
act and approve every thing, provided appear- 
ances were saved. 

Cecil was the very man to conduct so dishon- 
orable an intrigue, with one great advantage — 
never did a minister possess a more crafty mind, 
nor one more fruitful in resources. He com- 
menced by assuring Mary that Elizabeth would 
endeavor to reinstate her on her throne, provided 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 231 

she would reject any other alliance, particularly 
that of France. If she would consent to that, 
they promised to employ themselves earnestly 
with her position, and would first endeavor to 
prevail upon her subjects to recognize her rights 
without effusion of blood ; in case negotiations 
were useless, they would have recourse to arms ; 
yet it was necessary that the Queen of Scot- 
land should first justify herself of the accusations 
which had been laid to her charge. Mary as- 
sented to the latter condition, and to perform it, 
demanded an interview with Elizabeth 

Cecil had not calculated upon this ; an inter- 
view between the two queens might have the 
most grievous consequences for Murray and his 
associates, perhaps even for their English friends ; 
and the scrupulous Cecil persuaded the scrupu- 
lous Elizabeth that a virgin queen, as she was, 
should not admit into her presence a queen 
accused of adultery and murder, and the virgin 
Elizabeth yielded unresistingly to this unan- 
swerable argument. It was agreed that Mary 
should first of all be required to disprove the 
accusations of her enemies before an English 
council or commission ; it could be required^ for 
the crown of Scotland, since the time of Edward 
XL, was subject to that of England. Mary tri- 



232 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

umphantly answered all the sophisms of Cecil 
She declared that she was an independent queen ; 
that she would never recognize supremacy in any 
other sovereign ; and that she intended to return 
to Scotland, or cross over to France. It was 
decreed that Mary should not leave England. 
At first her demand was evaded, then positively 
refused. 

Mary then repented of not having followed the 
wise advice of the Archbishop of St. Andrew's ; 
but the evil was done, and she must be resigned. 
Nevertheless, she complained with no less force 
than bitterness of having been deceived. It was 
only after the positive assurances that Elizabeth 
had given her whilst she was still a prisoner at 
Lochleven, that she determined on proceeding 
to England rather than to France. It was very 
extraordinary that Elizabeth would refuse to see 
a queen, her relation, under the frivolous pretext 
of an unproved accusation, after having several 
times admitted to her presence Murray, the bas- 
tard son of James ; Murray, who was guilty of 
crimes deserving death. Moreover, it must not 
be expected that she would answer her accusers 
in prison ; they were her subjects, not her equals. 
Mary insisted on being restored to liberty. 

Mary was right in complaining ; but her com- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 233 

plaints only reached Elizabeth through the un- 
worthy voice of Cecil ; she was not heard. Poor 
Mary ! she did not suspect that between herself 
and the infamous minister of a false and treach- 
erous queen a war to the knife had commenced ; 
but in this struggle of the strong with the weak, 
neither equity, nor reason, nor good faith could 
triumph over force. The English ministers, after 
long consultation, decided that Mary could not 
be received at court until she had fully estab- 
lished her innocence, and that her request to leave 
the kingdom could not be granted, without great 
danger to the kingdom and to religion. But, as it 
would be easy for her to escape from Carlisle, it 
was determined that she should be immediately 
removed to Bolton. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TEIAL OF MARY. — THE YORK CONFERENCES. — ATTEMPTS TO 
ESCAFE DISCOVERED. 

To show grounds in the eyes of the public for 
BO unjust a decision, the ministers alleged that 
Mary had, on the occasion of her first marriage, 
asserted her right to the throne of England, and 
that if she was at liberty, she would not fail to 
20* 



234 LIFE OF MARY STUART, 



do SO still ; that her advent to the throne, if it 
took place, would infallibly ruin the cause of 
Protestantism in Great Britain. The English 
ministers, therefore, persisted in requiring a trial, 
hoping to find means, if not to condemn her, at 
least to destroy her reputation. Mary indig- 
nantly repelled the idea of such a trial, as deroga- 
tory to her dignity. At length the subtlety of 
Cecil suggested an expedient, which equally 
served his purpose — a trial, not of Mary, but 
of her enemies ; who, if they could justify their 
conduct to the satisfaction of certain English 
commissioners, should be allowed to retain their 
estates and honors ; if not, should be abandoned 
to the justice or the mercy of their sovereign. 
Elizabeth would then engage, upon certain con- 
ditions, to reduce the Scots to obedience. 

One of these conditions was, that Mary should 
abolish the mass in Scotland, and introduce 
English reform instead of the Presbyterian or 
republican kirk. Lord Herries urgently coun- 
selled Mary to agree to this condition. Sixteen 
lords of the queen's party* were consulted on the 

* Among the Scottish lords, some desired that Mary, having been 
released from Bothwell, should resume her rights and sceptre ; these 
were called the queen's lords. Those who, on the contrary, approved 
of the coronation of the king and the regency of Murray, were styled 
the king's lords. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 235 

subject, and they answered, that they referred the 
decision to Mary's prudence,* who gave a con- 
ditional consent. In her private instructions to 
her commissioners, she herself says, " Although I 
have been brought up in the religion which has 
been for so long that of my kingdom, ... I 
will follow the counsel of my dearest sister^ 
. . . and endeavor, as much as in me lieth, to 
introduce this opinion — Anglican reform — into 
my realm." Let us not blame Mary too much 
for this act of weakness, which she afterwards 
deplored, effacing her fault by bitter repentance. 

Mary accepted this hard condition, involving, 
as it did, Cecil's plan. It was not without much 
repugnance that she gave her consent; she her- 
self had to overcome the opposition and en- 
treaties of her most faithful counsellors, who only 
beheld in the minister's plan a snare skilfully 
laid. But in order to be a judge of the motives 
which determined her, it must not be forgotten 
that she was in the flower of her age, unjustly 

* It would have been better not to have answered. How could 
they refer such a matter to the prudence of a young woman, who had 
only lately committed imprudences, sometimes through goodness, 
sometimes through weakness ; of a woman, who, burning with the 
very natural desire at her age to terminate an unjust captivity, and 
who, not having had much experience, would naturally seize with 
avidity every means offered her to break her chains ? 



236 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

detained a captive by the Queen of England, 
and that she hoped by concessions to hasten the 
moment of her restoration to liberty. The city 
of York was selected as the place of conference. 
Mary, undoubtedly, only consented to this con- 
ference on the formal promise, that when it 
would be terminated, she would be replaced 
upon the throne. Here is a new proof of Eng- 
lish ministerial loyalty : a promise of a similar 
nature, but of an opposite tendency, was made to 
Murray. Be that as it may, the English com- 
missioners were the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl 
of Sussex, and Sir Ralph Sadler, the confidant 
of Cecil, The Queen of Scotland was repre- 
sented by Leslie, Bishop of Ross, Lords Living- 
stone, Boyd, and Herries, and three others. 
Murray appeared in person, with Morton, Lind- 
say, the Bishop of Orkney, and the Abbot of 
Dumfermlin, aided by Maitland and five other 
counsellors. Mary at first insisted that Eliza- 
beth's promise to replace her on the throne should 
be expressed in the powers given to her commis- 
sioners ; and Murray required a confirmation of 
the promise made by the ministry, that, in the 
event of Mary's conviction, she should not be 
allowed to return to Scotland. These contradic- 
tory demands showed the duplicity of the Eng- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 237 

lish ministry, which was evinced to a certainty 
by both being granted. 

Mary's commissioners, as plaintiffs, set forth 
the charges against Murray and his associates ; 
that they had risen in arms against their sover- 
eign, had traitorously confined her in Lochleven, 
and had, by intimidation, compelled her to sign 
her abdication. Instead of attempting, as was 
expected, to justify himself by alleging that his 
sister had taken part in the murder of Darnley, 
Murray demanded to communicate in secret to 
the commissioners the proofs which he had in 
his possession of her guilt. He alleged that, 
laboring under a capital accusation, he did not 
wish to make use of these proofs against his 
sovereign without being previously assured of 
their efficacy. He then laid before the commis- 
sioners a translation of eight letters purporting to 
have been written by the queen to Bothwell, 
some previous, others subsequent, to the death of 
Darnley ; two marriage contracts ; and a collec- 
tion of amatory sonnets, composed by Mary and 
addressed to her paramour. The commissioners 
did not give Murray a definite answer ; but, at 
his request, they wrote to Elizabeth for additional 
instructions. 

In every country where any principles of 



238 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

justice exist, when papers attributed to a party- 
are produced in a trial, and especially in a crim- 
inal trial, and use is desired to be made of them 
against their author, they are first shown to him, 
that they may be allowed or contested, and in 
this latter case be proved ; for it is only after 
the authenticity of a paper has been established 
in some manner that its contents can have any 
weight in law. Murray in this case communi- 
cates the papers in private, and the commission- 
ers should not have received them. If these 
letters were genuine, what had Murray to fear 
by producing them ? Was it because he wished 
to spare his sister a public exposure? Was 
it not upon their evidence he contended that she 
would be condemned ? In the hypothesis of the 
genuineness of these letters, would not their pro- 
duction have caused Mary or her commissioners 
to have instantly ended the trial ? Would not 
Mary have borne any thing rather than suffer 
these letters to see the light ? No ; these letters 
were never the production of Mary ; with that 
proof in his possession, Murray would have 
silenced his sister the first day. And then, why 
not produce the originals ? Why a translation, 
perhaps very incorrect ? This is not the mode 
of action taken when the truth is advanced. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 239 

The application of the English commissioners 
to their sovereign, asking of her supplementary 
instructions, necessarily delayed the proceedings : 
in order that the delay might not be remarked, 
or that the cause of it might not be suspected, 
Murray replied to the charge. He, as well as 
his friends, he said, had taken up arms against 
Bothwell, not against the queen ; the queen had 
been imprisoned because she would not separate 
her cause from that of Bothwell ; he had ac- 
cepted, not extorted, her resignation. Mary's 
commissioners annihilated this feeble defence. 
Murray and his accomplices, says Anderson, 
afterwards acknowledged that their answer was 
but a fictitious plea. They had sworn, however, 
to proceed uprightly, to regard neither affection 
nor hatred, to speak without malice and without 
human respect, and to say only what they would 
say in God's presence. But what is an oath to 
men who laugh at the most sacred promises ? 

In the mean time, the king's lords, and the 
queen's lords, — at whose head was Chastel- 
herault, who had returned from France, — ear- 
nestly desired a compromise. Murray knew well 
that a charge of murder against the queen would 
be rebufted by a similar charge against all his 
associates ; and he was well aware of the 



240 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

feebleness of his proofs, as for proofs he had 
only these letters, which would evidently be de- 
nied, whilst the queen could furnish very strong 
evidence. The Earl of Sussex, one of the Eng- 
lish commissioners, had said in express terms, 
" If the queen's adversaries accuse her of murder 
by producing her letters, she will deny them and 
accuse the most of them of manifest consent to 
the murder, which will be difficult to be denied ; 
so that, both sides considered, the queen's proofs, 
I believe, will make her cause prevail." If Mur- 
ray then reflected upon the consequences, the 
fact could not be concealed that if he failed he 
would be delivered to the vengeance of his justly 
irritated sister ; that, even in case he succeeded, 
the sickly state of the young prince portended ap- 
proaching death, by which he would gain noth- 
ing, as the crown would pass rightfully to the 
head of Chastelherault, his mortal enemy. 

Hence Murray desired to abandon his proofs 
against the queen, declare her innocent by act of 
Parliament, and allow her a considerable revenue 
from Scotland, provided she would confirm her 
abdication and the regency, and in case she 
wished to retain the title of queen, consent to 
reside in England. Chastelherault, on the con- 
trary, fearing the intrigues of Murray and the 



LIFE OP MARY STUART. 241 

pretensions of the house of Lennox, wished that 
the crown should be restored to Mary, that the 
prince should be educated under the care of 
Elizabeth, and that in the interim the govern- 
ment should be administered by a council or 
committee of noblemen, in which every man 
should have that place which became his rank. 
This was reserving the first place for himself, 
which caused the Earl of Sussex to remark, that 
all these men occupied themselves very little 
about the queen and the prince, her son, but 
they thought much of their own interests. 

Maitland was commissioned by Murray to 
prevail on Mary to accede to his terms. He first 
assured the queen that he had only repaired to 
York to serve her ; he then endeavored to make 
her sensible of the advantages of a compromise. 
The complaisant Maitland afterwards suggested 
to the Duke of Norfolk, on behalf of the regent, 
a marriage with Mary, assuring him in private 
that she was entirely innocent. He also inti- 
mated that a prompt arrangement would prevent 
the ministers from producing the defamatory 
documents. Lastly, he attempted to persuade 
the Bishop of Ross, that if Mary would confirm 
the abdication made at Lochleven, and marry 
21 



242 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



the Duke of Norfolk, the Queen of England 
would reinstate her on the throne. 

The ministers were fully acquainted with the 
state of the conferences at York, the increasing 
embarrassment of Murray, as the moment ap- 
proached to prefer the charges, the project of the 
Duke of Norfolk's marriage, and the multiplied 
intrigues of Maitland. This determined Cecil, 
instead of sending Murray a direct reply, to 
remove the conference to Westminster, that he 
might manage it to his liking by his immediate 
action. Under pretence that the points referred 
to in the discussion could not be elucidated by 
letter, Cecil required two commissioners from 
each party, accompanied by Sir Ralph Sadler, 
to repair to Westminster, that the queen might 
receive the necessary information by word of 
mouth. Thus closed the York conferences. 

Murray had obtained leave to follow his com- 
missioners to London, and he was even admitted 
to the presence of Elizabeth. This was an un- 
worthy violation of promises already made ; 
Mary also, who had hoped until now, saw a 
mysterious plot devised for her ruin. She wrote 
to her commissioners to require of the Queen of 
England that she might be confronted with her 
accuser in the presence of all the nobility and 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. " 243 

foreign ambassadors ; and if so equitable a re- 
quest was refused, they were enjoined to declare 
that their powers were withdrawn. The unfor- 
tunate Mary divined too well that the scandalous 
partiality of the government for Murray would 
end by giving the fatal stroke to her rights. 
The infamous Cecil promised Murray that the 
Queen of Scotland should never recover her 
authority, and that, if he commenced his suit, 
judgment would be pronounced in his favor. 

Thus encouraged, Murray brought forward his 
charge, according to which Mary conceived, 
counselled, and ordered her husband to be assas- 
sinated, and afterwards her son, so as to place 
the crown upon the head of the murderer, (1st 
of December.) Mary's commissioners then re- 
quested of the queen, since she had admitted 
Murray into her presence, to give an audience 
to the Queen of Scots, that she might prove 
her innocence. The virgin Elizabeth answered, 
coldly, that this demand would require mature 
and grave reflection. When we write or read 
the recital of so many acts of injustice, duplicity, 
and perfidy, it is consoling to think that there 
exists a God, a rewarder and an avenger. An 
Elizabeth, because she is a queen ; a Cecil, be- 
cause he is the minister of this impious queen ; 



244 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

a Murray, a Morton, a Maitland, because they 
are in power — may escape the justice of men ; 
and their crimes will not be atoned for after- 
wards ! and their noble victim, offering to Heav- 
en the sacrifice of her afflictions, will find after 
her but nought ! and her insensible ashes will 
mingle with the insensible ashes of her execu- 
tioners ! O, no ! that will not be ; God, the 
avenger. Eternity, are there : I feel them in my 
heart. 

Mary's commissioners fulfilled their mission 
with courage and perseverance, but their efforts 
were fruitless. Then, by the advice of Chastel- 
herault and the French and Spanish ambassa- 
dors, they declared the conference dissolved. But 
Cecil refused to accept their declaration, on the 
ground that they had misunderstood the queen's 
answer. Not to create difficulties, the commis- 
sioners rectified what Cecil termed inaccuracy ; 
but three days had elapsed, and during the inter- 
val of the 6th to the 9th of December, Murray 
had laid before the commissioners the pretended 
papers. Cecil immediately summoned the lead- 
ers of the English nobility, that they might per- 
form their part by the letters produced by Murray. 
When these papers had been sufficiently ex- 
amined, Cecil did not ask the English lords to 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 245 

declare their opinion or pronounce on the authen- 
ticity of these writings. They were merely told 
that Mary had demanded an audience with Eliza- 
beth to reply to the charge ; but he added, that 
Elizabeth feared that her modesty — what mock- 
ery ! — would suffer from such an interview. 
No one durst express their disapprobation, and 
Mary's commissioners were informed that, under 
the present circumstances, nothing but a glorious 
justification could save their mistress from in- 
famy ; but that this justification could not take 
place before a maiden queen ! 

It does not appear to have ever been Cecil's 
intention to obtain a final decision. He only 
wished to get possession of the letters produced, 
that Mary, aware that their publication or sup- 
pression depended upon Elizabeth, would yield 
more easily to what he required of her; but 
Mary's resolution disconcerted Cecil and his 
associates. She demanded that copies of the 
papers should be given to her commissioners, 
that she might examine them, and even promised 
to name among her accusers two of the murder- 
ers of her husband, (Morton and Maitland,) pro- 
vided she was allowed access to Elizabeth. The 
Bishop of Ross having obtained an audience from 
the latter, (7th of January, 1569,) to obtain a 
21* 



246 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

copy of the papers, Elizabeth informed him that 
Mary would do well to resign her crown, and 
peaceably end her days in England. The bishop 
replied, that his mistress would not consent to 
this sacrifice ; but Elizabeth persisted in her re- 
fusal, and the interview terminated. Murray and 
his associates departed for Scotland, bearing a 
declaration, that as nothing could be proved 
against them which could sully their reputation 
or honor, so no sufficient reason had been given 
why Elizabeth should entertain any evil opinion 
of the conduct of the queen, her good sister. 
The Bishop of Ross then demanded that his mis- 
tress be treated with the same courtesy that had 
been extended to Murray ; if she was to be de- 
tained a captive in England, he wished to protest 
in her name against the validity of any act which 
should be subscribed by her whilst she was under 
restraint. 

Mary's enemies contend that if at the York 
conference Mary had maintained a decided 
superiority over her accusers, she yielded this 
advantage at Westminster, by refusing to offer 
any defence except before the queen. Cecil had 
said that Mary would not have so earnestly de-' 
manded admittance to the presence of Elizabeth, 
had she not known that her request would be 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 247 

refused. To this objection it is triumphantly 
answered that Mary only claimed what was just 
and reasonable ; that it was more than strange 
that she was confined two hundred miles from 
the place of trial, whilst Murray was present, and 
obtained from the queen as many private audi- 
ences as he requested. It is certain that Cecil, 
no longer knowing to what means to recur, broke 
up the conference without concluding any thing, 
and that he always evaded the request which 
Mary made for a copy of the papers. 

It is recollected that Maitland had spoken to 
Mary of a marriage with the Duke of Norfolk. 
The duke, whether he feared incurring the wrath 
of Elizabeth, or that he attached very little im- 
portance to Maitland's proposition, made no 
advances ; but Murray, before his departure, re- 
newed this intrigue. He sent Robert Melville 
to his sister, and waited in person on the duke. 
The only means, he said, of securing the tran- 
quillity of the two kingdoms, was the marriage 
of the Queen of Scots with a Protestant lord, and 
no other could so easily gain the assent of all 
parties as the duke, Norfolk answered, that he 
could not determine without consulting his sov- 
ereign ; Mary, that she would give no answer 
whilst she remained a captive. If her liberty and 



248 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

authority were restored to her, she would listen 
to his advice, and always prove a good sister. 

It must not be imagined that Murray acted on 
this occasion for his sister's interest ; it was his 
own. He knew that the queen's lords had as- 
sembled on the borders, to prevent him from 
reentering the kingdom ; and that many English 
lords of the northern counties were leagued to- 
gether to intercept him in Yorkshire. Through 
the message of Robert Melville, he induced his 
sister to believe that he was eager to restore her 
to liberty, and he obtained in exchange an order 
from her to the Scottish lords not to oppose his 
passage. Mary was then at Rippon ; Elizabeth, 
who had permitted Murray and his accomplices 
to return to Scotland, should have — to show 
herself just, supposing that she had the right to 
constitute herself judge of the Queen of Scot- 
land — allowed her the same privilege. But in- 
stead thereof, and as if Mary had been her subject, 
and guilty towards her, Elizabeth redoubled her 
severity. Not believing her prey sufficiently 
guarded, she had her transferred to the heart of 
England, placed her at first under the care of the 
Earl of Shrewsbury, transported her from castle 
to castle, and sent her later to Tutbury, where 
she was imprisoned in a house built of wood. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 249 

originally designed for a hunting seat, and sur- 
rounded by a lofty wall, which in a great meas- 
ure excluded the sun.* 

A description of this residence is given in one 
of Mary's letters, published in the Life of Lord 
Egerton. She had but two small rooms (petites 
chamhrettes) for herself and maids ; the walls were 
pierced with fissures, the plaster having in many 
places separated from the timber; and though 
they intrenched themselves behind screens, cur- 
tains, and blankets, they were always ill with 
colds. She had no place where she could walk 
under cover in the house ; and no rooms, to 
which she could retire, but two little closets, 
{jpetits troiis,) about seven feet square, looking on 
the wall. The house was crowded with guards, 
valets, &c., without any convenience for so nu- 
merous a family, and the privies under her win- 
dow exhaled an infectious odor which could not 
be removed. 

It was from this horrible abode that she wrote 
many letters to Elizabeth, which, if she had not 
carried egotism so far as to render her a stranger 
to every sentiment of humanity, would have 
moved her to compassion, and caused her to re- 
gret her past severity. Foreign powers com- 

* See Appendix, No. 10. 



250 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



plained ; but Elizabeth answered, that she should 
be praised for her indulgence, instead of being 
blamed for severity ; for she had, to Marjfs inter' 
est^ suppressed documents which would have 
covered her with everlasting infamy. 

Meanwhile, several English lords, who had 
approved of the plan of a marriage between 
Mary and Norfolk, resumed the project, and 
finally obtained the duke's consent; he had at 
first obstinately refused, because he feared the 
vindictive Elizabeth. When the question of the 
marriage was first mentioned, Elizabeth spoke in 
such a manner as to make him understand that 
it could not take place without her consent ; and 
the duke answered as lightly, that he would never 
marry a woman whose husband cannot sleep 
securely on his pillow. Nevertheless, as on one 
side this union flattered his vanity, and on the 
other he noticed among the lords who urged him 
the Earl of Leicester and the famous Throck- 
morton, he gave his unqualified consent. 

A letter, signed by Norfolk and the Earls of 
Leicester, Arundel, and Pembroke, was sent to 
the Queen of Scotland, in which they proposed 
restoring her to her throne, and recognizing her 
rights to the succession in England, on condition 
that she would never impugn the right of Eliza- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 251 

beth, or her dii*ect heirs ; that she would conclude 
a perpetual league, offensive and defensive, with 
England ; that she would pardon her revolted 
subjects, and marry the Duke of Norfolk. Mary- 
answered, that she would willingly agree to every 
thing, provided they would obtain the queen's 
consent to the marriage ; for by marrying Darn- 
ley against the Queen of England's wish, she 
had been constantly unhappy. 

When the liberation of Mary was next dis- 
cussed in the English cabinet, the four lords pro- 
posed the articles which had been submitted by 
them to Mary ; but they suppressed the one re- 
specting the marriage, until Maitland, who was 
to disclose the project to Elizabeth, should arrive 
from Scotland. The plan was generally ap- 
proved; Cecil formally promised not to oppose 
it, although he nevertheless refused to second it. 
Lords Boyd and Wood were sent to Scotland, 
the former to obtain the consent of the queen's 
lords, the latter that of Murray, who, in reality, 
by no means desired the success of a plan which 
would deprive him of the regency. Norfolk now 
showed as much eagerness as he had previously 
shown indifference ; he commenced an active but 
secret correspondence with Mary, through the 
agency of the Bishop of Ross, expecting that 



252 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Elizabeth would know nothing of what was 
passing. He was deceived : the treacherous 
Wood revealed all to Elizabeth before his de- 
parture. On the other hand, Bothwell remitted 
from Denmark his consent to a divorce ; the 
Kings of France and Spain, as likewise the Eng- 
lish nobility, approved of every thing; nothing 
remained but that the articles should be ratified 
by the regent and Elizabeth. 

Murray assembled the Scottish Parliament, 
and while he affected to speak in favor of Mary's 
liberation, employed aU his influence to prevent 
it. Parliament would not even consent to the 
appointment of a committee to examine the ques- 
tion of the validity or nullity of Bothwell's mar- 
riage. Maitland, who did not doubt the perfidy 
of the regent, then feared for himself, and deemed 
it prudent to seek an asylum with his friend, the 
Earl of Athol. Murray did not lose a moment 
in transmitting to Elizabeth the decision of the 
Scottish Parliament. He informed her by letter 
that the Scots would never consent to receive 
Mary. His messenger found Elizabeth at Farn- 
ham, (13th of August,) and the news she received 
rendered her doubly discontented ; at first, be- 
cause she was tired of having Mary on her hands, 
and would fain allow her to depart for Scotland, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 253 

provided she had nothing to fear for herself; 
then, because she perceived by MuiTay's letter 
that the project of Norfolk's marriage had been 
concealed from her. 

As the contents of the message had transpired, 
Leicester was m'gently pressed to explain the 
whole matter to Elizabeth, who, on leaving the 
table, advised Norfolk to beware on what pillow 
he should rest his head. This expression w^as not 
reassuring. Leicester was urged anew ; he still 
promised, yet delayed. It was only after some 
days that, fearing for his own security, he im- 
agined the melodramatic scene by which his 
pardon would be assured. 

The court having proceeded from Farnham to 
Tichfield, Leicester kept his bed, and the queen 
was informed that he was dangerously ill. The 
virgin queen hastened to visit him, and as she 
sat by his bedside, the sick man, in a feeble and 
trembling voice, interrupted by sobs, informed 
her that, before dying, he wished to ask pardon 
for the ingratitude and disloyalty he was guilty 
of, in having wished to marry her rival to one of 
her subjects. Leicester, as he expected, easily 
obtained pardon, and survived. Norfolk was 
severely reprimanded, and forbidden, under pen- 
alty of treason, ever more to entertain the project. 



254 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

The duke cheerfully assented ; but perceiving that 
the courtiers, especially Leicester, avoided him, 
he set out for his castle of Kenninghall, in Nor- 
folk. The queen, who suspected him of treach- 
ery, peremptorily ordered him to return without 
delay. 

The regent, in the interim, wishing to appre- 
nend IVIaitland and baffle his intrigues in Mary's 
favor, invited him to attend a council at Stiiiing. 
An order was given for his arrest, and the sus- 
picious, crafty Maitland was insnared. Murray 
appointed a day for his trial ; he wished to in- 
timidate and compel him to become Norfolk's 
accuser. Maitland refused, and Mm-ray did not 
hesitate to assume the character which the for- 
mer rejected at the peril of his life. He sent 
the duke's letters to Elizabeth, protesting that 
he had only appeared to assent to the project 
through motives of personal safety. These vile 
manoeuvres caused the Duke of Chastelherault 
to say, " Murray aims higher than is supposed ; 
he desires the crown. May Heaven grant that he 
may find in the path he enters what so many 
others have found before him." 

Norfolk Avas sent to the Tower, Leicester, 
Arundel, and Pembroke, excluded from the royal 
presence, and the Bishop of Ross, Lord Lumley, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 255 

and some others, placed under arrest. The prose- 
cution was no less vigorously carried on than if 
it concerned a direct outrage against the person 
of Elizabeth ; but the customary means * of ob- 
taining proofs or confessions only produced the 
conviction, that the proceedings of the accused 
might have offended the susceptibility of the 
Queen of England, but that there was not a 
shadow of disloyalty or treason in them. Seri- 
ous fears, arising from the situation of the 
northern counties, distracted the attention of 
Elizabeth and her ministers from a deed which 
would have been performed as they had originally 
agreed, to devote it wholly to the insurrection 
which had broken out in the remote provinces. 

The Queen of Scots had friends in Northum- 
berland and the neighboring counties. The spec- 
tacle of a young princess, the victim of her 
confidence in the promises of Elizabeth, and the 
captive of her who should have been her pro- 
tectress, deeply moved generous men. The 
charms of her conversation, and the elegance 

* Questions were proposed to each individual in private, and he 
was informed that his only hope of mercy depended on the truth of 
his replies. These confessions were afterwards compared, discrepan- 
cies explained, and new questions suggested. Thus every suspicious 
circumstance was sifted, and the innocence or guilt of the parties de- 
termined upon. 



256 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and sweetness of her manners, added necessarily 
to the interest which her misfortunes inspired. 
All those who, even without knowing her, con- 
tended that her right to the English throne was 
legitimate, detested the selfish policy which 
sought to weaken that right by the most odious 
calumny ; Catholics, in fine, regarded her as a 
martyr, suflfering for her attachment to the faith 
of her fathers. A great number of English lords 
had offered her their services ; these she had 
refused by the advice of Norfolk. But the dis- 
grace of that lord extinguished all her hopes, and 
when Huntingdon and Hereford, her declared 
enemies, were appointed her jailers, she was agi- 
tated with violent apprehensions for her life. 
She despatched secret messages to the Earl of 
Westmoreland, the brother-in-law of Norfolk, 
and to the Earl of Northumberland, who had 
been appointed by the council ; and through 
these she informed of her situation all those 
who had formerly tendered their services to her. 
The Earl of Sussex had communicated to the 
two former the alarms he had felt respecting the 
moral situation of the northern counties, and 
they had succeeded by their answers in dissi- 
pating his suspicions. Some imprudent acts 
and untimely demonstrations of Mary's friends 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 257 

revived their suspicions; and. when Sussex had 
written to the two earls to repair to York, and 
was refused by them, suspicion became certainty. 
The two earls, notified by the order of Sus- 
sex that their conduct was suspected, believed 
they would not be able to escape the danger 
threatened by the court without taking up arms 
against it. At Branspeth Castle they were joined 
by some hundreds of followers, and on the 16th 
of November unfurled their banner. The design 
of the insurgents was to proceed to Tutbury, 
to liberate the Queen of Scotland, and to compel 
Elizabeth to recognize her as presumptive heir. A 
proclamation was addressed to Catholics, calling 
on them to obtain redress for their grievances, 
restore the ancient worship, and protect the no- 
bility of the realm from utter ruin. The two 
earls expected much from this proclamation ; for, 
according to Sadler, whom we cannot suspect, 
there were not in all this country ten gentlemen 
sincerely attached to reform. Nevertheless, this 
proclamation had very little effect ; the Catholics 
— for what reason is unknown — ranging them- 
selves under the standard of Sussex. When the 
insurgents arrived at Clifford, they held a coun- 
cil of war. The Spanish ambassador had in- 
formed them that they must not expect assistance 
22* 



258 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

from his master, but that they might, neverthe- 
less, apply directly to the Duke of Alva, in 
Flanders. The insurgents then abandoned their 
design of liberating the Queen of Scots, and 
with seven thousand men hastened back to 
Kaby Castle. From thence they took possession 
of Hartlepool, in order to have free communica- 
tion with the Spanish Netherlands ; but the 
Duke of Alva excused himself under various 
pretexts from sending the assistance demanded 
of him, and it even appears that he hindered 
Philip II. from interfering. On the 27th of the 
same month, the Queen of Scots was transferred 
from Tutbmy to Coventry. 

The indifference of the Catholics to the cause 
of the insurgents, and the refusal of the Duke 
of Alva, disconcerted the two earls, who could 
only count upon their own resources : even these 
resources would soon fail them, for desertion 
each day thinned their ranks. Nevertheless, Sus- 
sex feared to attack them, because he had but 
little confidence in his troops, which were com- 
posed almost wholly of Catholics. He therefore 
waited for the arrival of the Earl of Warwick, 
who headed an army of twelve thousand men. 
At the approach of the royal army, the insur- 
gents lost all confidence, and hastily retreated 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 259 

to Hexham, where the infantry dispersed. The 
cavaby, numbering about five hundred men, 
crossed into Scotland through Liddisdale. Eliz- 
abeth demanded the surrender of the fugitives, 
but the Scots on the frontier braved the threats 
of Elizabeth and the orders of Murray. A trai- 
tor, — the only one, — Hector Graeme, of Harlow, 
delivered up the Earl of Northumberland to 
Murray, who confined him in the Castle of 
Lochleven, and offered Elizabeth, it is said, to 
exchange him for his sister. The remonstrances 
of the foreign ambassadors, prompted by the 
Bishop of Ross, prevented this shameful exchange, 
in which Elizabeth and Murray would have re- 
ciprocally furnished a victim. Westmoreland, 
and all the other chiefs of the insurgents, who 
were at first saved by the courageous resistance 
of the frontier clans, escaped to the continent. 

Elizabeth's vengeance was terrible ; all those 
who could be accused of having taken part in 
the insurrection were despoiled of their property, 
tortured, and put to death. Some were pardoned 
after a long captivity, on taking the oath of su- 
premacy.* When all had been punished, Eliza- 
beth published a proclamation, in which she is 

* The oath by which the King or Queen of England was recognized 
as the supreme head of the church of England. 



260 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

made to say, that she " did not mean to molest 
any one for religious opinions, so long as those 
opinions did not conflict with the laws of the 
realm, which enforced the frequentation of divine 
service in the ordinary churches^ 

The failure of the two earls had not discour- 
aged all of Mary's friends. One of the most 
zealous for her deliverance was Leonard Dacres, 
head of the noble family of the Dacres of Gillis- 
land. At the commencement of the rebellion 
he had left the court to raise men, avowedly for 
the service of Elizabeth, but actually to join the 
insurgents. When he perceived their cause des- 
perate, he fell upon their rear guard, made a 
number of prisoners, and thus obtained among 
his neighbors the reputation of a devoted loyal- 
ist. But the ministers were not duped by his 
conduct, and the Earl of Sussex was ordered to 
arrest him on a charge of high treason, (Janu- 
ary, 1570.) 

Leonard Dacres was upon his guard ; he be- 
came aware of his pursuit, and within a month 
we find him at the head of a numerous body of 
troops, three thousand borderers having ranged 
themselves under his banner.* An engagement 
took place on the banks of the Gelt on the 22d 

* The banner of Dacres was covered with scallop shells. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 261 

of February, between Dacres's forces and the 
royal army. Leonard did not evince less ability 
than courage, but he was obliged to yield to 
much superior forces ; he escaped to Scotland, 
from whence he proceeded to Flanders. 

A month previous the Scottish regent had 
died, and according to the unchristian-like but 
partly excusable wish of the Duke of Chastel- 
herault, Providence had sent him what so many 
others had met in the same career of usurpation. 
The regent had confiscated the property of many 
members of the Hamilton family. One of them, 
Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, was despoiled, not 
only of his own domains, but also, by an atro- 
cious act of injustice, of what formed his wife's 
dower. The latter was given to a favorite of 
Murray, and the new proprietor, presenting him- 
self unexpectedly at the house of the woman, 
drove her ignominiously forth, without giving h^ 
time to assume her apparel. This treatment 
made such an impression upon this unfortunate 
victim that she lost her reason, and died in a 
very short time afterwards. Her husband swore 
that he would be revenged, not upon the favorite, 
but on MuiTay himself. He arranged his meas- 
ures so well, that one day, as the regent was 
passing through the town of Linlithgow, he en- 



262 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

tered a house which was unoccupied at the time, 
and shot him with a carabine. The regent's suite 
advanced to the house from which the shot was 
fired ; but, before they had forced an entrance, 
the murderer had mounted a race horse wliich he 
had ready near by, and gained the road. He was 
pursued, but not overtaken ; the regent died dur- 
ing the night.* 

The queen's followers hoped for a moment ; 
Chastelherault and the Earls of Argyle and Hunt- 
ley assumed the government in the queen's name. 
Kirkaldy, who, as well as Maitland, had definitely 
joined Mary's party, admitted them into Edin- 
burgh, of which place he held the command. 
This triumph was of short duration ; Elizabeth, 
under pretence of punishing the frontier clans, 
who had afforded an asylum to the state rebels, — 
she who had so often given an asylum to the 
Scottish rebels, — ordered two armies to set out j 
one commanded by Sussex, the other by Lord 
Scroop. Morton, for whom Heaven reserved 

* Robertson of Dalmeny thus sums up Murray's character : 
♦'Murray, ■who practised more deeply in hypocrisy than perhaps any 
man that has lived ; whose mind was steeled equally against hmnan- 
ity, honor, and truth ; who walked in darkness ; who smiled in the 
midst of iniqvuty ; and who covered all his actions with the cloak of 
religion, is to be handed down as an impostor of the first magnitude 
to all future times." 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 263 

the reward so well merited by his crimes, joined 
the foreign invaders with all Murray's followers, 
and a great part of Scotland was overrun, fire 
and sword in hand. The Bishop of Ross and 
the French ambassador induced Elizabeth to 
recall her troops ; she even appeared to waver 
between the choice of a successor to Murray 
and the restoration of Mary to her throne. But 
she had offered too many injuries * to Mary not 
to fear that if she was restored to liberty, she 
would seek to be revenged, and that, assisted by 
France and Spain, she would succeed ; and as 
if she had the right to command in Scotland, 
she notified the Scots to elect a regent in the 
place of Murray. Lennox, the grandfather of 
the prince, was chosen. 

The Queen of England was probably decided 
by the publication of a bull of Pope Pius V , in 
the beginning of the month of May. The bull 
declared her guilty of heresy, deprived her of her 
pretended rights to the crown, and absolved the 
English from the oath of allegiance. A copy of 
it was affixed during the night to the gate of the 
Bishop of London's residence, by a gentleman 
named Felton, who was executed shortly after ; 

* " Forgiveness to the injured doth belong ; 
They never pardon who commit the wrong." 



264 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and although the queen affected to turn the 
pope's decree into ridicule, it proved the source 
of considerable alarm, because she believed its 
execution was connected with some plan of for- 
eign invasion. Under these circumstances, her 
hatred^ and jealousy could but increase against 
the innocent Mary. 



CHAPTER X. 

NEGOTIATIONS WITH MARY. — TROUBLES IN SCOTLAND. — EXE- 
CUTION OP NORFOLK. 

Meanwhile, Mary by her pressing solicita- 
tions, her English friends by their entreaties, and 
the Kings of France and Spain by theu* remon- 
strances, finally obtained from Elizabeth (Sep- 
tember 1570) a promise to name the conditions 
on which she would liberate her captive. Nego- 
tiations for this purpose were commenced by the 
English ministers with the Queen of Scotland. 
The followers of the latter were, the more eager 
to obtain her liberty at any price, because they 
were aware that there existed among her coun- 
sellors a powerful party, who declared the murder 
of the Queen of Scotland the only means of 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 265 

restoring peace to England. This means was 
rejected by Elizabeth, not through motives of 
humanity, for she ardently desired the death of 
Mary, but through decency, that it might not be 
said she had shed the blood of her nearest rela- 
tion. Hence she offered the regent, Lennox, to 
deliver Mary to him, provided he would engage 
that she should be made way with ; and hence 
the Earl of Shrewsbury was ordered to put her 
to death on the first attempt her friends should 
make to rescue her. 

Cecil and Maitland repaired to Chatsworth, 
where Mary was then confined, and during the 
negotiation, which continued a fortnight, Mary 
proved herself a match for these wily statesmen. 
Nevertheless, the so natural desire of regaining 
her liberty induced her to subscribe to all their 
demands, except what concerned her religious 
principles. The consent of the Scots was alone 
necessary : the king's lords, with Morton at their 
head, arrived about the middle of February, 
(1571,) and contended before Elizabeth that sub- 
jects had the right to depose illegitimate or im- 
moral sovereigns ; an uncourtly doctrine, to which 
she listened with bad enough grace, and which 
did not incline her in their favor. The discussion 
which took place a month after with the queen's 
23 



266 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

lords referred only to the securities to be given 
by the Queen of Scots on reascending the 
throne. 

Elizabeth, who had appeared interested in 
terminating this affair promptly, resumed her 
usual irresolution at the moment for action. 
She hesitated so long, that no one knew to what 
her subterfuges would lead. " Believe me," said 
Leicester himself, " no one in England can say 
which way it will go." Cecil, who had been 
raised to the peerage, under the title of Baron 
Burleigh, relieved his misti'ess of her embarrass- 
ment. The commissioners of the king's lords 
were recalled, in the name of the prince, — later, 
James VL, — under pretence that they had not 
sufficient powers. This revocation was the work 
of Burleigh, who, on the other hand, favored with 
aU his influence the proposition of marriage made 
to Elizabeth in the name of the Duke of Anjou, 
brother of Charles IX. 

Soon after the separation of commissioners, 
Parliament commenced its session. One of the 
first bills proposed, and which, after having 
passed both houses, received the royal sanction, 
declared it high treason in any one to claim a 
right to the crown during the queen's life ; or to 
assert that it belonged to any other person than 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 267 

the queen ; or call the queen a heretic or usurper ; 
or to deny the right of Parliament to regulate 
the order of succession and the heritage of the 
crown. 

The death of Murray was far from having 
restored calm to Scotland ; the parties, more ex- 
asperated than ever against each other, since 
Elizabeth had recalled her troops, waged the 
most fearful war. The soldiers of Lennox sur- 
prised the Castle of Dumbarton, which was con- 
sidered impregnable. Among the prisoners was 
the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, who had taken 
refuge there from the pursuit of the regent's par- 
tisans : the prelate perished on a gibbet. This 
crime involved many others ; many acts of vio- 
lence, committed by way of retaliation, were 
followed by new massacres. Even children, it is 
said, fought in the streets, with stones, sticks, and 
knives, for King James or Queen Mary. To 
complete the confusion, each party convoked a 
Parliament ; the queen's at Edinburgh, the king's 
at Stirling. 

Kirkaldy formed the project of termJhating, by 
a decisive stroke, this direful contest. He con- 
ceived the plan of seizing Stirling by a coup de 
main; and it is presumed that, if he had com- 
manded the expedition in person, he would have 



268 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

completely succeeded ; he confided it to Fairny 
Herst, Scott of Buccleuch, and Claude Hamil- 
ton. These three chiefs set out with about five 
hundred knights, and were admitted into the 
city at very early morn, by a native of Stirling, 
named Bell. Detachments were immediately 
placed in the houses occupied by the king's lords, 
who, surprised at this sudden attack, surrendered 
without resistance ; the Earl of Marr alone de- 
fended himself valiantly, which gave the others 
time to rally. The regent Lennox was made 
prisoner, and Claude Hamilton ordered him to 
be executed, which order was obeyed, amidst 
cries of '•^Remember the archbishop !^^ 

Hamilton and his friends were, however, 
obliged to retire before the superior forces which 
had rallied around the Earl of Marr, who, on 
account of the services rendered by him, was 
appointed regent of the kingdom. Mary's parti- 
sans, reduced to a small number, established 
themselves in Edinburgh, where Kirkaldy con- 
tinued to command in the queen's name, whilst, 
in the nerth, a band of Highlanders, under the 
command of Sir Adam Gordon, essayed defend- 
ing the interests she had embraced. Mary's 
cause was not abandoned in England, although 
all previous attempts had failed. Parliament, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 269 

not content with proscribing her pretensions to 
the crown, had passed a bill which subjected 
Catholics to such conditions, and such severe 
penalties for each infraction of them, that they 
were placed in the alternative of not being able 
to remain in England without offence to their 
consciences, or of removing from it without 
losing their fortunes. Other provisos affected 
those who had filled posts during the preceding 
reign, although they were not Catholics ; the 
spirit of discontent pervaded the majority of the 
nation. Harassed by the intolerance of the new 
laws. Catholics, suspected Protestants, men de- 
prived of their places, those whose property had 
been confiscated, the discontented of all classes, 
took the desperate resolution of defending their 
interests at the peril of their lives, rather than be 
thrown into prison and forfeit their property to 
the queen. A leader was needed, and they cast 
their eyes upon the Duke of Norfolk, whom the 
vindictive Elizabeth still detained in the Tower. 
Unfortunately, one of the Queen of Scotland's 
servants, named Bailly, was arrested at Dover, as 
the bearer of a packet of letters, some of which, 
the address excepted, were written in cipher. 
Lord Cobham, to whom they had been sent, 
confided them for some hours to the Bishop of 
23* 



270 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Ross, who was adroit enough to substitute in 
their place others, the contents of which were 
■unimportant. Bailly, having been examined, 
confessed what he knew concerning the con- 
spiracy ; he finished by declaring it was the trea- 
son of a certain Brown, who carried to the council 
a bag of money he had received from the secre- 
tary of Norfolk to bring to Bannister. In the 
bag were found letters which proved that this 
money was destined for Lord Herries, the agent 
and counsellor of the Queen of Scotland. Di- 
vers individuals, even the Bishop of Ross, were 
arrested, and the torture, or fear of the torture, 
made them avow what the ministers wished to 
know.* 

It was ascertained that there had been several 
plans to effect Mary's release; that on many 
occasions she had asked and obtained the advice 
of Norfolk ; that the money sent to Bannister 
had been forwarded to Norfolk by the French 
ambassador; that through the mediation of Ru- 

* The Bishop of Ross claimed the amhassadorial privilege, but was 
not hearkened to. He alleged that, when Randolph and Tamworth 
were convicted of having assisted the Scottish rebels, Queen Mary 
had been contented with ordeiing them to leave the kingdom. This 
argument was peremptory; but Burleigh resolved the difficvilty, by 
informing the bishop that he must either answer or be put to the 
rack. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 271 

dolplii, negotiations had been established be- 
tween the duke, on one side, and the King of 
Spain, Duke of Alva, and the pope, on the other ; 
that Mary, despairing of redress from Elizabeth, 
with whom she had exhausted every means in 
her power, had instructed Rudolphi to act for her 
at foreign courts, and that the duke had reviewed, 
approved, and corrected these instructions ; that 
Philip 11. had offered her for a husband Don 
John of Austria, but that she preferred the Duke 
of Norfolk, provided he would agree to restore 
the Catholic faith ; that of the two projects pre- 
sented to Norfolk by Rudolphi, one aimed at the 
an*est of Elizabeth on her way to the House of 
Lords, the other to collect the greatest possible 
number of troops, and effect a union with the 
Duke of Alva, who would land at Harwich with 
ten thousand veterans. 

The first victim devoted by the ministers to 
vengeance was, as is w^ell known, the Duke of 
Norfolk, whom the queen had not pardoned for 
persisting in seeking to marry the Queen of 
Scotland. On the 14th of January, 1572, the 
Earl of Shrewsbury, having been appointed lord 
high steward, summoned twenty-six peers, se- 
lected by the ministers, to attend within two days, 
in Westminster Hall, to determine on the duke's 



272 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

fate. The duke was charged with imagining 
and compassing the death of his sovereign ; 1. 
By seeking to marry the Queen of Scots, al- 
though he knew that she claimed the crown of 
England to the exclusion of Elizabeth ; 2. By 
soliciting foreign powers to invade the realm: 
3. By furnishing money to be employed by the 
queen's enemies. It is impossible to describe the 
entire injustice of this mode of proceeding. The 
accused was only informed of his trial the eve 
before he was arraigned ; for eighteen months he 
had held no communication with his friends, and 
only learned the charges against him by hearing 
the indictment from the bar ; and they even had 
the cruelty to refuse him counsel. Norfolk, not- 
withstanding, defended himself courageously, and 
with talent, which, always expressed in a moder- 
ate tone, contrasted singularly with the virulence 
of the crown advocates. His condemnation, how- 
ever, had been determined in advance ; he heard 
it with calmness and resignation. 

Elizabeth signed the warrant for his execution 
on Saturday, the 11th of February; the next 
day she revoked it. The cruel Burleigh then 
drew an alarming description of the danger her 
clemency might produce ; she spent nearly two 
months in continual hesitation. At last, on the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 273 

9th of April the warrant was signed anew, and 
anew revoked in the middle of the night.- Bur- 
leigh returned to the charge. The death of 
Norfolk should precede that of a nobler victim ; 
for, it was said, the axe must be laid to the root : 
so long as the Queen of Scots exists, there will 
be no security for the crown and life of the 
Queen of England. To these insinuations Eliz- 
abeth replied, " Can I put to death the bird, 
which, to escape the talons of the vulture, has 
fled to my feet for protection ? " Burleigh had 
at his disposal the most servile Parhament that 
ever was ; he always employed it as a last re- 
source when he wished to put an end to the 
irresolution of his mistress. 

The Commons, having resolved that the ex- 
istence of Norfolk was incompatible with the 
queen's safety, determined that an energetic ad- 
dress should be presented to the crown, (28th of 
May:) it was unnecessary. Burleigh had a 
third time obtained the signature of Elizabeth, 
(31st of May,) and as it was not revoked, the 
unfortunate duke was led to the scaffold, (June 
2,) after a cruel agony of five months. 

Both houses, rivalling each other in injustice 
and barbarity, then resolved to proceed against 
the Queen of Scotland by bill of attainder — an 



274 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

infernal procedure, established by the most sav- 
age despotism to declare one attainted without 
a hearing, without previous information, and 
upon presumptive evidence. The queen forbade 
• them proceeding with this bill, but the Commons 
did not obey. She repeated her prohibition, 
when Burleigh adopted another plan, by present- 
ing a bill which declared Mary incapable of 
succeeding. The queen interdicted anew to the 
two houses any interference with the inheritance 
of the crown ; and as, in spite of this prohibition, 
the bill had passed both houses, she prorogued 
the Parliament. She nevertheless consented that 
commissioners should be appointed to complain 
to Mary of the part she had taken in the con- 
spiracy, who replied, that in yielding her consent 
to the proposed marriage, she had had no hostile 
intention towards the queen ; that her correspond- 
ence with Rudolphi had been strictly confined 
to pecuniary transactions, and that all she had 
demanded from foreign powers was to assist her 
faithful Scottish subjects. 

Meanwhile the base Morton added a floweret 
to his wreath. The Earl of Northumberland 
was still confined in the Castle of Lochleven. 
Morton, during his exile in England, had received 
favors from the earl ; the countess, trusting to 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 275 

the generosity which her husband's former favors 
might have produced, offered two thousand 
pounds for his ransom, which sum was deposited 
at Antwerp. But Morton, in the interim, treated 
with the Queen of England, who advanced an 
equal, or perhaps a larger sum ; so that the un- 
fortunate earl, on leaving Lochleven, was con- 
ducted to Berwick, and from thence to York, 
where he was beheaded without delay or trial. 

iUl these bloody catastrophes recalled to Mary 
the lot which awaited herself. She passed days 
and nights in pangs of terror, every instant 
seeming to feel the dagger of the assassin on the 
way to her heart ; and her fears were not devoid 
of foundation. When the month of August 
(1572) had arrived, and the mournful news of 
the night of the 24th had been received at Lon- 
don, Burleigh and his adherents redoubled their 
efforts to persuade the queen that the massacre of 
the French Protestants was only a prelude to 
the massacre of the English Protestants. To 
anticipate this event, there was but one means : 
to put to death the Queen of Scots and her 
associates. Elizabeth was not convinced of the 
necessity, or even of the efficacy, of this step ; 
but above all, she did not yet wish to soil her 
hands with the blood of her relation. She 



276 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

determined to despatch Killegrew to Scotland, 
ostensibly to reconcile the two parties, in reality 
with the secret mission to offer the regent to 
deliver the Queen of Scots to him, provided she 
would be treated as she deserved^ and rendered 
incapable of ever returning to England. 

The Earl of Marr nobly rejected the insinua- 
tions of Killegrew ; he sincerely desired to rees- 
tablish peace in Scotland, to heal the wounds of 
civil war, to cause the fusion of the two parties, 
not to pander to the jealousy or fears of the 
Queen of England. He sought to rally all the 
Scots around the standard of his royal pupil, 
being persuaded that if Mary ever recovered her 
liberty, it would be easy to reconcile the interests 
of the mother and son. On the arrival of the 
English envoy, he was concluding a treaty for 
the surrender of Edinburgh Castle, when unfor- 
tunately he visited the Earl of Morton at Dalkeith. 
Whilst here being taken suddenly indisposed, 
he returned to Stirling, and died in a few days. 
Morton was strongly suspected of having poi- 
soned him ; at least, owing to English interest, 
he succeeded to his post. 

The new regent pursued an entirely different 
policy from that of the Earl of Marr ; he de- 
manded the unconditional surrender of the Castle 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 277 

of Edinburgh, (23d of February, 1573.) Kir- 
kaldy, Hume, and Maitland refused to place 
themselves at the mercy of their declared enemy 
and upon their refusal, Drury, the marshal of 
Berwick, arrived in the port of Leith with an 
English army and a considerable train of artil- 
lery. After a siege of thirty-four days, the be- 
sieged surrendered to Drury and the Queen of 
England ; the noble Elizabeth delivered them to 
the regent, and the regent had Kirkaldy executed. 
Maitland was poisoned, as the Queen of Scots 
asserts ; or he poisoned himself, to escape the lot 
which awaited him. Kirkaldy was considered 
the bravest soldier and best general in Scotland ; 
Maitland, the best statesman : both had repeat- 
edly changed their party, and only received what 
they merited ; but it was not from Morton, who 
was more culpable than they, that they should 
have received it. 

Many years passed without any favorable 
change taking place in the situation of the 
Queen of Scotland ; each day, on the contrary, 
augmented them. Since the fall of Edinburgh, 
the regent, always sustained by the soldiers and 
money of Elizabeth, had compelled the principal 
lords of the queen's party to recognize his title, 
and submit to the authority of the king ; the 
24 



278 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Duke of Chastelherault and the Earl of Huntley 
laid down their arms, and Morton reigned as 
sovereign over Scotland, whilst the queen, a cap- 
tive, experienced all the horrors of the most 
rigorous imprisonment. The number of her do- 
mestics jvas diminished, the allowance of her 
table reduced ; no stranger could obtain access 
to her presence without the express permission 
of Elizabeth ; and her correspondence was exam- 
ined and often retained by the agents of the 
ministry. Her ignorance of passing events, the 
perpetual anxiety of her mind, the refusal to 
allow her the enjoyment of air and exercise, all 
contributed to impair her health ; and all the 
petitions she addressed to Elizabeth for a miti- 
gation of the rigor of her confinement were 
evaded, or remained unanswered. 

Elizabeth, on her side, was not tranquil ; she 
had been so often told that the liberty of the 
Queen of Scotland was incompatible with her 
own security, that she lived in continual terror, 
fearing every one and distrusting even her most 
zealous subjects ; Burleigh himself and the Earl 
of Shrewsbury were not more exempt than oth- 
ers from suspicion. She particularly dreaded the 
power of Mary's charms, and the impression they 
might make upon Shrewsbury ; therefore she had 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 279 

surrounded him with assistant officials, who, 
under pretence of lightening his unpleasant du- 
ties, in fact only watched his conduct to report 
it to the queen. It was with profound terror 
that she learned of the Prince of Orange (Feb- 
ruary, 1577) that the brother of Philip IL, the 
famous Don John of Austria, not only intended 
to subdue the Netherlands, but also to invade 
England, that he might marry the Queen of 
Scotland, in whose name, and by the assistance 
of whose friends, he would contend for the Eng- 
lish crown. This project was not entirely de- 
void of foundation. Gregory XIII. , the successor 
of Pius v., had solicited the King of Spain to 
unite with him to liberate Mary Stuart and 
establish the Catholic religion throughout Great 
Britain. Philip, it is true, would not act openly, 
but he did not oppose the scheme of his illegiti- 
mate brother. The sovereign pontiff would fur- 
nish, it was said, six thousand regular troops, 
and other precautions would be taken to secure 
the success of the expedition ; but it appears 
that the project existed only on paper, and no 
attempt was made to carry it into execution. 

Meanwhile Morton, by his continually increas- 
ing avidity, excited violent murmurs among the 
Scots, and his acquiescence in all the desires of 



280 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

Elizabeth rendered him extremely odious. He 
had altered the currency, multiplied confiscations, 
and appropriated to himself the ecclesiastical 
benefices ; he showed himself, besides, so servile 
and base towards England, that, because an 
affray had taken place on the borders between 
the inhabitants of the two countries, he even 
humbled himself so far as to make public ex- 
cuses to Elizabeth's envoy. A great part of the 
nobility, having assembled in convention, decided 
on placing James, then ten years of age, at the 
head of the government ; and Morton was com- 
pelled to resign his authority, (December, 1577.) 
But three months had scarcely elapsed, when, 
gaining admittance to Stirling Castle, he seized 
the person of the king, and placed himself at the 
head of the council, in which position he resumed, 
as minister, the authority he had no longer as 
regent. AthoL the chief author of the late 
change, being invited by Morton to an enter- 
tainment as a sign of reconciliation, died five or 
six days after from poison. 

Secure of the ascendency, Morton now gave 
the reins to his avarice and resentment ; and the 
chiefs of the house of Hamilton were compelled 
to leave the kingdom, their property being seized 
by Morton, (1579.) But if divine justice appears 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 281 

sometimes slow in striking, its blows are not less 
terrible for that. James was warmly attached to 
two youths, one of whom, but recently arrived 
from France, was the nephew of the Earl of 
Lennox ; the king created him earl, then duke, 
and loaded him with honors ; and Lennox in- 
sinuated to the king that Morton intended to 
convey him to England. The other favorite was 
Captain James Stewart, second son of Lord 
Ochiltree ; he hated Morton, of whom his family 
had reason to complain, and urged the king to 
rid himself of an odious guardian ; meanwhile 
he procured proof of Morton's complicity in the 
assassination of Darnley, and when he had ob- 
tained it, brought a formal accusation against 
him, (December 81, 1581.) When Elizabeth 
was informed of this event, she sent her agent 
Randolph to Scotland, who made great efforts 
to save the accused ; but he had the awkwardness 
to accuse Lennox of being leagued with foreign 
princes to invade England, by which he only irri- 
tated against his protege men already disposed 
to treat him with the same rigor he had so often 
displayed towards others. 

To support the manoeuvres of her worthy rep- 
resentative Randolph, who, in the two preceding 
missions, had only been ordered to leave the 
24* 



282 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

lealm, and who, in the third, had to fly precipi- 
tately to escape being hung, Elizabeth despatched 
to the borders a body of troops, with orders to 
repair where they were needed, in order to assist 
her party in Scotland.* But as her agent did not 
succeed in exciting the Scots to rebellion, Eliza- 
beth, through shame, countermanded her troops, 
who returned to England. It was proved on the 
trial, that Morton had participated in the Whit- 
tingham meeting ; that his cousin and intimate 
friend Ai'chibald Douglas, and his servant Bin- 
ning, were actually employed ; that Queen Mary, 
when she joined the rebels at Carberry Hill, had 
told him, to his face, that he was one of the mur- 
derers. The manrent^ or bond by which Both- 
well was protected from the punishment of the 
murder, was also produced, and a declaration 
of Bothwell, made upon his death bed. (1576.) f 
Morton was unanimously declared guilty, and 
condemned to be hung ; the king, however, com- 
muted the punishment to that of decapitation. 

* "For relief of hir partie in Scotland, and (if) need be." 
t In this declaration, Bothwell affirmed that the queen was inno- 
cent, and named all his accomplices. It is believed that the King of 
Denmark sent a copy of this declaration to Elizabeth, who judged it 
apropos to suppress it. It appears, according to Camden, that Both- 
well always affirmed, on oath, that the queen was ignorant of the 
plot : reginam minime consciam fuisse scape contestatus est. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 283 

Morton acknowledged that he had been soli- 
cited by Bothwell and Douglas to take part in 
the conspiracy, and that he had refused, because, 
although Bothwell alleged the queen's consent, 
he had no written proof of it. Camden con- 
tends that his real confession was, that he had 
demanded the queen's written order before join- 
ing the conspiracy, and that Bothwell had replied 
that such an order could not be produced, for the 
deed must take place without her knowledge. 
Walter Scott, in his History of Scotland, con- 
tends that he died courageously, and with truly 
Christian courage. It is true, that, when on the 
scaffold, he threw himself on his face, manifest- 
ing by his groans, sobs, and violent contortions 
of his limbs, much agitation and anguish of soul ; 
which caused the ministers — Protestant — who 
accompanied him to say, that these violent con- 
vulsions were evident signs of the inivard and 
mighty working of the Spirit of God. It would 
have been desirable for these ministers to have 
explained their meaning, for we can only see 
therein the convulsions of despair ; it happens 
only too often that a man terrified at his crimes, 
and not daring to hope for the divine mercy, 
abandons himself to a reprobate rage when his 
term of life is about to close. 



284 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 



After the condemnation of Morton and the 
enthroning of James, it appeared that Elizabeth 
would no longer be able to retain the Queen 
of Scotland a prisoner. She was not ignorant 
that a party was intriguing with the young king 
that he might claim his mother's liberty; that 
the King of Spain and the pope had furnished 
assistance in money ; and that the project had 
been entertained of associating Mary and her 
son on the Scottish throne. There was, then, 
urgent necessity for forming a party to hinder 
this event, which, by reconciling the son to the 
mother, would have presented two enemies in- 
stead of one. The infernal policy of Burleigh 
assisted Elizabeth, by organizing a new revolu- 
tion in Scotland. The Earl of Gowrie invited 
the king (August, 1582) to visit him at his cas- 
tle of Ruthven, whither the king unsuspectingly 
repaired, and was detained a prisoner. James 
Stewart, a short time previous created Earl of 
Arran, was thrown into prison, and Lennox 
escaped to France, where he died of a broken 
heart ; or, as some say, of poison. The lords of the 
English faction then ruled without hinderance. 

When the Queen of Scotland heard this griev- 
ous news, she wrote from her bed, to which she 
was confined by illness, a touching letter to Eliza- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 285 

beth ; but she had no feeling for any one but her- 
self. Mary's condition was not improved ; and 
although she was really ill, no comfort was offered 
her. In the interim, the King of France, who 
was interested in the English faction not gov- 
erning Scotland, in order that Elizabeth, obliged 
to divide her attention, might be less occupied in 
assisting the French Huguenots, sent La Motte 
Fenelon to Scotland to aid the young king to 
recover his liberty, and effect as soon as possible 
the association project. Elizabeth, on her side, 
sent (January, 1583) Bowes and Davidson to 
oppose the measures of the French ambassador ; 
but James, with a vigor beyond his years, pre- 
tended a desire to see St. Andrew's, repaired to 
that city, entered the castle, and closed the gates, 
thus preventing his guards from entering. He 
then appealed to the nobility, and appeared so 
determined to preserve the power and liberty he 
had regained, that Gowrie and his friends durst 
make no attempt to deprive him of it. 

The news of this revolution revived Mary's 
hopes ; but it was always her misfortune to have 
for protectors men who consulted their own in- 
terest before all else. The Duke of Guise, the 
Archbishop of Glasgow, and many other im- 
portant personages, assembled at Paris, and 



286 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

devised a plan for Mary's liberation, which could 
not fail to succeed: Guise should land on the 
southern coast ; James, with all his forces, should 
enter the northern counties ; and the English 
friends of the house of Stuart should be sum- 
moned to the aid of the injured queen. James, 
to whom this plan was communicated, approved 
of it without hesitation ; but Mary, to whom the 
French ambassador communicated it, feared that 
on the first attempt made for her deliverance, her 
wardens would put her to death ; she would 
rather seek to obtain her liberty by concession 
and negotiation. She wrote to Elizabeth that 
she wished to transfer all her rights to her son ; 
renewed the offers heretofore made ; and proposed 
a league of perpetual amity. Elizabeth, deeply 
moved, seemed to acquiesce ; her ministers made 
no objection; but an obstacle came whence it 
was least expected. Henry III. had ordered his 
ambassador, Castelnau, to follow ostensibly the 
instructions of the Queen of Scotland, but to 
oppose in reality any treaty, which, by freeing 
Elizabeth from any apprehension on the part of 
Scotland, would leave her at liberty to support 
the Protestants of France. 

This policy of Henry HI. cannot be too much 
blamed, pressed on one side as he was by a 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 287 

league, which, under a religious pretext, was 
devoted to Philip's interest, and on the other by 
the Huguenots, who were supported by their 
English friends. It is unfortunate that the effects 
of it should have reacted on poor Mary, who 
finally beheld the cup of promise dashed for the 
tenth time from her lips. On her side, the Eng- 
lish queen, although determined on still retaining 
her prisoner, experienced considerable disquie- 
tude, more especially as she was threatened with- 
out knowing who threatened her. She learned, 
through her spies, of the Duke of Guise's pro- 
jects in favor of her relation, of his connection 
with James, and of the hopes he based upon a 
great number of English subjects. To prevent 
the evil which she feared, she increased the num- 
ber of her spies, distributed money freely, em- 
ployed every where agents, the provocators of 
troubles and revolts, laid snares for the Catholics 
of her kingdom, augmented the severity of the 
penal laws, and permitted one party of her 
subjects to persecute the other in her name. 
The scaffolds at that time (1584) were drenched 
with blood, and men of all classes suffered the 
frightful punishment of traitors. Meanwhile, her 
minister Walsingham was intriguing in Scot- 
land, and paid the preachers to excite the spirit 



288 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

of insurrection, the nobles to arm their vassals, 
and the people to join the insurgents. 

The king, who perceived that his crown was 
still aimed at, by an ordinance of the 2d of 
March enjoined on all persons concerned in the 
" raid of Ruthven " to quit the kingdom without 
delay. Gowrie promised obedience, but joined 
the Earls of Angus and Marr, his accomplices ; 
about the middle of April, they appeared at the 
head of a body of insurgents. Five days after, 
(April 18,) the insurgents were routed, pursued 
and dispersed ; and Gowrie, being taken prisoner, 
was delivered to justice. The good Elizabeth 
had determined to assist the rebels, but the French 
ambassador strongly remonstrated; the order re- 
mained unexecuted, and was soon after revoked, 
on learning that Gowrie had been executed as a 
traitor. Angus and Marr escaped to England, 
and Walsingham solicited their pardon in Eliza- 
beth's name; but the Scottish Parliament con- 
demned them as rebels, and confiscated their 
property. This vigorous act was a death blow 
to the English faction in Scotland. 

In the mean time, Elizabeth desired a recon- 
ciliation, and her minister Walsingham, all of 
whose plans had been baffled, advised her to 
accept Mary's proposition. James then sent his 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 289 

favorite Gray, master of Marr, to London ; Nau, 
Mary's French secretary, repaired thither also. 
The French ambassador was authorized to offer 
his mediation ; when, unfortunately, a Scottish 
Jesuit, named Creighton, returning to Scotland, 
was taken by a Danish cruiser, which conveyed 
him to England. There, contrary to the most 
simple conception of the law of nations, although 
he was a foreigner, a native of a country with 
which they were at peace, that he came from a 
country equally friendly, that he was neither 
accused nor guilty of any hostile act towards 
England, himself and a priest, also a Scot, who 
accompanied him, were examined. Tortures, or 
the fear of the rack, made them disclose aU the 
particulars of the invasion projected two years 
before, and of which the prospect alone caused 
Elizabeth so much alarm. 

It is not necessary to say that Burleigh and 
his friends improved the opportunity to agitate 
the mind of their capricious and feeble mistress 
with new and unfounded apprehensions; and 
a plan of association was even composed, the 
members of which bound themselves to pursue 
unto death, not only every one who should at- 
tempt, but also every person in whose favor any 
other should attempt, the life of the queen. The 
25 



290 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

latter clause was evidently directed against the 
Queen of Scots, whose life was thus placed 
at the mercy of the first murderer who would 
deprive her of it ; for a plot had only to be pre- 
tended, to justify the assassin. When the plan 
of the association was shown to Mary, she read 
it as her death warrant ; for she did not doubt 
the enmity of Elizabeth, and placed little depend- 
ance on her son, who, now arrived at the age 
when generous sentiments are developed, — he 
was seventeen, — show^ed no real attachment, ex- 
cept to his pleasures or interests, and who added 
profound dissimulation to this cool selfishness. 
In his negotiations with Guise, the King of 
Spain, and the pope, he expressed a strong par- 
tiality for the Catholic worship, and an excessive 
tenderness for his mother, whom he wished to 
liberate at the peril of his life ; but money was 
always needed to levy troops, equip them, and pay 
agents. By these protestations he obtained con- 
siderable assistance in money ; but his sincerity 
was at last doubted ; their liberality ceased, and 
he determined to play a similar game with Eliza- 
beth. His ambassador Gray was ordered not 
to join the secretary of Mary, but to negotiate 
apart. Gray was a Catholic, at least in appear- 
ance, and had always professed the greatest 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 291 

attachment to Mary's cause. He was at first 
received coldly enough by Elizabeth, and still 
more so by her ministers ; but by assisting at the 
Anglican service, acting in opposition to Nau, 
and revealing to Elizabeth all that he knew of 
the plans formed for Mary's deliverance, he so 
gained her confidence as to obtain a sum of 
money from her for his master, with the promise 
of a larger sum, in proportion to the services 
that James might render her; that is to say, 
if James would aid in delivering her from her 
prisoner, or at least consent that she should be 
rid of her. 

The English Parliament assembled in autumn, 
and one of the first subjects with which it was 
occupied was the confirmation, by statute, of the 
association for the queen's safety. It was pro- 
posed that, in case of invasion, or any attempt 
against the queen, the individual by or for whom 
the attempt was made should forfeit all right to 
the succession, and should be pursued to death 
by all the queen's subjects. Elizabeth felt the 
scandalous injustice of this measure, and in a 
message proposed sundry amendments. The 
bill, which finally passed, provided that, before 
pursuing to death any individual, that individnal 
should have been declared privy to the crime by 



292 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

a commission of tw-enty-four members ; by the 
same bill Mary and her descendants were de- 
clared incapable of succeeding, in case the queen 
perished by a violent death ; and the articles of 
the association already subscribed were ordered 
to be explained according to the provisions of 
the present statute. 



CHAPTER XL 

ASSOCIATION. — TROUBLES. — CONSPIRACY OP BABINGTON. — MART 
IS IMPLICATED IN IT. — HER TRIAL, CONDEMNATION, AND DEATH. 

The unfortunate Queen of Scotland had 
passed the whole winter (1584-1585) in the 
most cruel disquietude ; her agony had already 
commenced.* The ratification of the plan of 
association by Parliament ; her removal from the 
Castle of Sheffield, where she was under the 
wardenship of the Earl of Shrewsbury, to the 
old and ruinous manor of Tutbury, where Sir 
Amias Paulet, a dependent of Leicester, was 
her jailer ; the suspicions thrown out that she 

* " A more weary and distressing course of oppression, mingled 
from time to time with deceitful glimmerings of delusive hope, is 
hardly to be found in history." — Sir Walter Scott. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 293 

knew the plans of many conspirators who had 
been tried ; the silence or evasive replies of Eliz- 
abeth, — all contributed to agitate her mind with 
sadness, grief, and alarm. To these subjects, 
fraught with fear for the future, was at length 
joined the conviction that her son had no affec- 
tion for her. After she had discovered Gray's 
treason, she had written to James, complaining 
of the conduct of his favorite. James answered 
her in a disrespectful manner, concluding by say- 
ing that she was only the queen mother, that she 
had no right to interfere in the affairs of the 
realm, and that she had only a title without au- 
thority. This letter opened Mary's eyes to the 
hopelessness of her situation. Abandoned by 
her own son, upon whom could she henceforth 
rely ? At first she formed the resolution of dis- 
owning him, and of transferring all her own 
rights to some prince capable of defending them ; 
but she made to Heaven a sacrifice of her resent- 
ment, and Heaven, who wished yet to prove her, 
sent her new trials. A young man, a Catholic 
recusant, and suspected of being a priest, was 
sent to Tutbury and confined in a room adjoin- 
ing the queen's chamber. She saw him many 
times dragged to the chapel to assist at the An- 
glican service, and, at the end of three weeks, he 
25* 



294 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

was hanged before her window.* This sinister 
event only confirmed her in the opinion that her 
own life was sought. " In this sinister opinion 
I have been not a little confirmed by the treat- 
ment of this priest, who, after having been so 
much tormented, was hanged on the wall before 
my windows." Influenced by this dismal idea, 
she wrote to Elizabeth, beseeching her for liberty 
and life. " I beg of you, madam," wrote she to 
her, after a preamble in which she appears con- 
vinced that the aim of the association was her 
death, — "I beg of you, with clasped hands, to 
free me from this long and miserable captivity. 
Name the conditions ; I will submit to them, 
whatever they may be, provided my conscience 
be safe ; if my past ofTers are not sufficient for 
your security, take from me all right to the suc- 
cession. I am content. I have no doubt of 
your sincerity and truth. Yet when they have 
murdered me without your knowledge, who can 
repair the injury to me? * * *. If my re- 
ligion is what is aimed at by my enemies, I am 
ready, by the grace of God, to bow my head 
under the axe, to shed my blood in the face of 
all Christian nations. I shall esteem it a happi- 

* See Appendix^ No. 10. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 295 

ness to be the first victim. This is not an idle 
boast : you know that I am not out of danger." 

Elizabeth, no longer afraid of James, who had 
basely become her dependant, did not answer 
Mary's letter, and left her to the care of Paulet, 
whose fanaticism and religious frenzy she well 
knew. A short time after she concluded a treaty 
with James, (5th of July, 1586,) by which they 
reciprocally engaged to defend the reformed re- 
ligion against the efforts of Catholic princes, and 
to assist each other in case of foreign invasion. 
In this treaty no mention was made of the 
Queen of Scots, whose misfortunes were finally 
drawing to a close. It has been said that her 
servants and her own friends, by their impru- 
dence, combined with her vehement adversaries 
in hurrying her to the scaffold. ' They were 
not only disunited among themselves, but a great 
number of traitors had crept in among her loyal 
defenders. 

Morgan and Paget acted as administrators of 
the queen's dower in France. The former had 
been implicated in a conspiracy against Eliza- 
beth, and though there was no proof, she forgot 
herself so far as to say that she would give ten 
thousand pounds for his head. When she sent 
the order of the garter to the French king, she 



296 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

demanded in return the person of Morgan. The 
feeble Henry HI. durst not refuse ; but judging 
that if he obeyed the request of Elizabeth, his 
condescension would do him no honor, he adopt- 
ed a middle course, confined Morgan in the Bas- 
tile, and sent his papers to the queen. Morgan 
employed the time in prison in planning schemes 
of revenge, and with the aid of Paget corre- 
sponded with Mary, and sought agents and 
accomplices in every part of England. The 
minister Walsingham suspected him, corrupted 
the fidelity of his agents, and encouraged him in 
his schemes, he himself secretly placing at his 
disposal various means of success. This pro- 
ceeding concealed a perfidious object: Morgan 
corresponded with Mary's two secretaries, Nau 
and Curie ; the wily Walsingham thought that 
the unfortunate princess might be compromised 
by some imprudence so that the statute of the 
association would apply to her. Morgan em- 
ployed as bearer of despatches one Pooley, who 
was in the service of a. daughter of Walsing- 
ham ; and his principal agents in England were 
Giffbrd and Greatley, two m.en who had studied 
in the English seminaries, and who were both in 
the pay of the government. Morgan had rec- 
ommended them in the strongest terms to Mary, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 297 

and sne nad given them her confidence. We 
need not say that through these three men 
Walsingham was very punctually informed of 
all that passed. 

There was yet a fourth agent, who called him- 
self Fortescue, and assumed the garb of an 
officer. Maude insinuated himself so far into 
his confidence that he learned that he was a 
Catholic priest, named John Ballard, whose ob- 
ject was to sound the disposition of his hosts, 
and seek assistance and friends for the exiles. 
The Spanish ambassador Mendoza, who was at 
Paris, having only given vague promises of 
cooperation on the part of his master, Ballard 
was sent by Morgan and Paget to England, to 
see there Savage and Babington. The former 
was an officer who had served in the wars of 
Flanders, and who had undertaken to kill Eliza- 
beth ; the latter was a rich young man of good 
family, from the county of Derby, who had 
always professed a chivalric enthusiasm for the 
Queen of Scotland. 

When Babington learned from Ballard that 
Savage had engaged to murder the queen, he 
said that the death of Elizabeth was too impor- 
tant an afiair to be confided to the trust of a 
single individual. He proposed that six gentle- 



298 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

men should be appointed to that service, whilst 
others should deliver the Queen of Scotland ; 
and he undertook to propose the affair to several 
faithful friends, who would joyfully seize the 
occasion to serve the captive queen, and deliver 
their brethren from persecution. All these de- 
tails were minutely transmitted to Walsingham 
by Maude and Pooley ; and that artful minister, 
whilst he smiled at the infatuation of the youths, 
who had thus entangled themselves in the toils, 
was busily employed in weaving a new intrigue, 
and planning the ruin of a more illustrious vic- 
tim. GifFord repaired, by order of Walsingham, 
to the neighborhood of Chertsey ; secured, by a 
bribe, the services of a man who carried beer to 
the castle in which Mary was confined; and 
opened a correspondence with the two secreta- 
ries, Nau and Curie. A few days after Babing- 
ton received from the hands of an unknown 
messenger a note, written by GifFord in Mary's 
cipher. In this pretended billet of Mary, she 
complained to Babington of having discontinued 
his services, and requested him to forward to 
Chertsey a package which he had received from 
the French ambassador. 

Babington suspected nought, and rejoicing in 
being useful to Mary, he sent her the packet with 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 299 

a letter from himself. GifFord forwarded the 
letter and packet to Walsingham. The papers 
were deciphered by Thomas Philipps, and tran- 
scribed in the minister's bureau : the original, or 
perhaps only a copy, was returned to GifFord, 
and by him forwarded to Chertsey. Mary's an- 
swer to Babington was likewise deciphered and 
transcribed in Walsingham's bureau, before being 
sent to its address. When use was made of 
these letters, at a later period, in order that Mary 
might be implicated in the conspiracy, many 
persons doubted their real contents. Ballard, 
who by his conduct showed himself so little 
worthy of the sacred character with which he 
was invested, apprehensive of immediate danger, 
or induced by the hope of a commensurate re- 
ward, offered to disclose the whole proceeding to 
Walsingham ; but the queen's letter was deci- 
phered, his services were not wanted, and he was 
arrested as a seminary priest, (4th of August.) 
The alarm spread among the conspirators, many 
of whom fled. 

Walsingham then judged it proper to inform 
the queen of his proceedings. She, being alarmed, 
praised his ingenuity, but condemned his confi- 
dence ; it was, she said, tempting divine Provi- 
dence ; exposing her life to imminent danger ; 



300 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

and she immediately gave orders that all the 
conspirators should be arrested. These orders 
becoming known, the guilty fled, but were all 
taken, some in dwellings in which they were 
concealed, others in the provinces. Edward 
Windsor was the only one who had the good 
fortune to escape the pursuivants. There were 
different gradations in their guilt. Babington 
was in reality an assassin, since he approved of 
Savage's project; others had refused to imbrue 
their hands in the queen's blood, but offered to 
undertake Mary's liberation ; others still, equally 
condemning both projects, committed the crime 
of not denouncing their friends. Babington ap- 
pears to have had little generosity, for his decla- 
rations alone formed the principal proof upon 
which his fellow accused were convicted. It is 
believed that he entertained, or was promised, 
hopes of pardon. They were all condemned to 
suffer the frightful punishment of traitors.* As 

* This punishment was indeed horrible, and worthy of being em- 
ployed by the most ferocious people. When the executioner had 
received the victim from the hands of the sheriff, he had him held by 
his assistants ; then taking a large cutlass in his right hand, he split 
open his chest, taking great care not to sever the arteries ; afterwards, 
introducing his hand into the wound, he di-ew forth the heart of the 
unfortunate condemned, who almost always had time, before expiring, 
to see his heart and entrails in the hands of the executioner. Often, 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 30l 

two days were allotted for their execution, and 
it was remarked on the first day that the rank 
and youth of the condemned, by exciting public 
pity, had made the punishment inflicted on them 
seem the more horrible, on the second day life 
was allowed to be extinct before the bodies were 
delivered to the executioner. Some days before 
the arrest of Babington, — that is, about the com- 
mencement of the month of August, — Sir Amias 
Paulet had been ordered to seize the papers of 
the Queen of Scotland, and he had promised to 
perform the commission with the grace of God. 
The first day that Mary took an airing, he con- 
ducted her by force to Tixal, restricted her to a 
particular corner of the house, and debarred her 
from the use of pen, ink, and paper. About the 
end of the month she was allowed to return to 
Chertsey, and entering her apartment, observed 
that her cabinets were standing open, and that 
her money, seals, and papers were gone. For 
some moments she preserved an indignant silence ; 
then turning to Paulet with an air of dignity, she 
said, " There yet remain two things, sir, which 
you cannot deprive me of : the right which the 

•when the condemned was a Catholic, the executioner cut the rope 
quickly after the di-op, so that the sufferer, whilst yet alive, under- 
went a double pimishment. 

26 



302 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

royal blood that flows in my veins gives me to 
the crown of England, and the attachment which 
binds my heart to the religion of my fathers." 

Meanwhile Elizabeth, not being able to decide 
alone on the fate of Mary, consulted her faithful 
counsellors. Some endeavored to save her life ; 
they pleaded her advanced age, — she was in 
her 45th year, — her corporal infirmities, con- 
tracted during her captivity, and the probability 
that she would succumb in a short time under 
the rigor of a protracted confinement. The 
greater number, however, maintained that Mary's 
death was necessary for the security of their 
religion ; and these balanced between the two 
opposite opinions of Leicester, who recommended 
the sure but silent operation of poison, and of 
Walsingham, who contended that the reputation 
of their sovereign required the solemnity of a 
public trial. The latter advice prevailed ; and a 
commission was issued to forty-seven peers, 
privy counsellors, and judges, all chosen from the 
most devoted of Elizabeth's subjects, to investi- 
gate the conduct of Mary, " commonly called 
Queen of Scotland and Queen Dowager of 
France," and to pronounce judgment according 
to the provisions of an act passed in the twenty- 
seventh year of the queen's :eign, (the statute of 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 303 

the association.) Thirty-six members of this 
commission, accompanied by the crown advo- 
cates, repaired to the Castle of Fotheringay, 
whither Mary had been transferred some days 
before. She received them without testifying 
any surprise, heard the explanation of the object 
of their visit, but energetically refused to recog- 
nize their authority. " Your authority," said 
she to them, "is derived from the Queen of 
England, but the Queen of England is not my 
superior ; I am an independent sovereign, and I 
will not dishonor the crown of Scotland by con- 
senting to appear as a criminal before an English 
court of justice." The commissioners separated, 
dissatisfied and perplexed. In -the solitude and 
silence of the night, she vividly recalled to mind 
the extraordinary scene which had taken place ; 
she above all remembered, and to her sorrow, 
the remark of Hatton, that her refusal to recog- 
nize the jurisdiction of the court arose only from 
consciousness of guilt. In the morning she con- 
sented to plead for the sake of her reputation, 
but on condition that her protest against the 
authority of the court should be previously ad- 
mitted. This, after some demur, was granted. 

This concession of Mary was a great impru- 
dence, for by it she committed herself defence- 



304 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

less to men among whom she had not a single 
friend, and who surely would not be deterred by 
a vain protestation, for the decision of which there 
would be no judges. If she had relied on her 
quality of sovereign, and said to her pretended 
judges, "You are the stronger; you can hang 
me, but you cannot judge me," perhaps they 
would not have dared go farther; in consenting 
to her trial, she consented to her condemnation. 
Under the ckcumstances in which she was placed, 
though they might assert, yet it would be almost 
impossible to prove her innocence. She was 
alone, friendless, unpractised in judicial forms, 
without papers, or witnesses, or counsel, with 
no knowledge of the Babington conspiracy but 
what they had wished her to know, and unable 
to divine upon what the charge rested ; how 
could she oppose this array of statesmen, jurists, 
and lawyers, leagued together to crush her? 
Nevertheless, Mary defended herself with spirit 
and dignity ; and before no tribunal would the 
most vile accused have been condemned on 
the feeble proofs alleged against the Queen of 
Scotland. 

The accusation may be divided into two 
heads : contravention to the association statute 
by conspiring with foreigners and traitors to pro- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 305 

cure — 1. The invasion of the realm; 2. The 
death of the queen. 

To establish the first part, a great number of 
letters, intercepted or found in her cabinet, were 
produced; if these letters were genuine, they 
showed that she had approved of the plan of 
invasion devised at Paris, and that she had 
even offered to aid its execution by inducing her 
friends in Scotland to take up arms and seize 
the person of James. Mary denied these charges, 
which she treated as frivolous, and said that, as 
the equal and not the subject of Elizabeth, she 
had of right sought every means to recover her 
liberty, which they had deprived her of, by abus- 
ing her confidence and good faith ; she had always 
offered conditions to Elizabeth, which even she 
had pronounced reasonable, and that all her 
propositions having been rejected, she had ac- 
cepted the offers of assistance which had been 
tendered her by her friends. 

The second part of the charge she vehemently 
denied. The crown advocates read a copy of 
Babington's letter, in which appeared this pas- 
sage : " For the despatch of the usurper, from 
obedience of whom, by the excommunication of 
her, we are made free, there be six noble gentle- 
men, all my private friends, who, for the zeal they 
26* 



306 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

bear to the Catholic cause and your majesty's 
service, will undertake the tragical execution." 
Then was read a copy of the supposed reply, in 
which the queen was made to say, " When the 
forces are in readiness both within and without 
the realm, then shall it be time to set the six gen- 
tlemen on work, taking good order that, on the 
accomplishment of their design, I may be sud- 
denly transported out of this place." It is worthy 
of remark that in this trial, as well as in that 
which Mary had undergone concerning Darnley's 
assassination, copies were only employed, and the 
originals not produced, in spite of the most formal 
and legitimate demands. 

Mary contended that she had never received 
such a letter from Babington ; that she had never 
sent him such a reply ; and that, instead of has- 
tening the execution of Babington, they should 
have produced him as a witness against her. 
The lawyers replied, by opposing to that the con- 
fessions of Babington, Nau, and Curie, that they 
believed the copies were faithful transcripts of 
the originals.* But where were these originals? 
"What could hinder Mary's accusers from pro- 
ducing them ? Babington had avowed the charge 
in the hope of being pardoned ; Nau was a timid 

* See A^endiXf No. 11. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 307 

man, whom they had likewise frightened by the 
sight of tortures. " Moreover, Nau," said Mary, 
" may have written this letter in my name,* but 
without my knowledge and against my will." 
Mary demanded to be confronted with them in 
the presence of Parliament, or before the queen. 
The presiding officer of the commission, not be- 
ing able, or desiring not to answer, or obeying 
secret orders, adjourned the assembly from the 
15th to the 25th of October, and from the 
Castle of Fotheringay to the Star Chamber at 
Westminster. 

On that day the two secretaries appeared; but 
it was in Mary's absence that the commissioners 
unanimously declared her convicted of having 
devised and arranged many plots against the 
queen's person, in contravention to the statute ; 
and although this statute declared Mary and her 
descendants incapable of succeeding, the com- 
missioners added, that the sentence should in 
no way derogate from the rights of James, King 
of Scotland. 

This last clause, determined upon in advance, 
had been inserted to hinder the King of Scotland 
from taking up arms to save his mother ; he had 

* Dr. Lingard makes Nau to have previously to this time com- 
mitted a similar offence. 



308 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

sufficiently shown how little affection he had for 
her, and now that his right to the succession was 
recognized, what mattered it to him whether his 
mother died or was saved ? James only loved 
money; Mary could then expect no assistance 
from any one. The King of Spain was occu- 
pied in maintaining his ground in Flanders, and 
the King of France in defending his throne 
against the league. Elizabeth was the supreme 
arbiter of her lot ; the death warrant was offered 
for her signature ; her indecision could not save 
Mary, but prolong her cruel agony. What re- 
strained Elizabeth was the stain which the blood 
of the Queen of Scotland would imprint upon 
her name. 

Meanwhile, Parliament, which had been pro- 
rogued from the 15th of October, assembled, and 
the proceedings at Fotheringay were submitted 
to it. They were not only found very correct, 
but the sentence appeared so worthy of the in- 
struction which had preceded it, that both houses 
united in a petition for it to be carried promptly 
into execution, (12th of November,) as if the least 
delay would place the throne and religion in 
danger. Elizabeth demanded some time for 
deliberation, but she inquired particularly if no 
expedient could be resorted to, which would in- 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 309 

sure her life, without carrying the sentence into 
execution. She was answered, that no expedi- 
ent was possible. They did not understand, or 
did not wish to understand her ; she also made 
the following strange response : " If I should say 
to you, that I me'ant not to grant your petition, 
by my faith, I should say unto you more, per- 
haps, than I mean. And if I should say that I 
mean to grant it, I should tell you more than is 
fit for you to know. Thus I must deliver to you 
an answer answerless^ 

Lord Buckhurst was charged with the sad task 
of announcing to Mary her condemnation ; he 
bade her not to hope for mercy, as her attach- 
ment to the Catholic faith rendered her life in- 
compatible with the security of the established 
religion, and offered her the aid of a bishop or 
dean of the reformed church* to prepare her for 
death. The queen replied, that she was ready to 
shed her blood for her religion ; that, moreover, 

* In a critique, in the Edinburgh Re-view, upon Hallam's Consti- 
tutional History, the -writer thus truly describes the founders of this 
church : " A king, whose character may be best described by saying, 
that he was despotism itself personified ; unprincipled ministers ; a 
rapacious aristocracy ; a servile Parliament. Such were the instru- 
ments by which England was delivered from the yoke of Rome. The 
work which had been begun by Henry, the murderer of his wives, 
was continued by Somerset, the murderer of his brother, and com- 
pleted by Elizabeth, the mxirderer of her guest." 



310 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

she had no need of the assistance of an ecclesi- 
astic of the reformed religion ; that she only re- 
quested that they would not deprive her of the 
services of her almoner, which request was reluc- 
tantly granted, but only for a short time. She 
employed the time in writing two important 
letters, one to the sovereign pontiff,* the other to 
the Archbishop of Glasgow. On the following 
day, the fanatical Paulet said harshly to her, that 
being dead according to law, she had no right to 
the insignia of royalty ; and he believed he was 
doing a praiseworthy act when he covered him- 
self rudely and sat down in her presence. This 
act of rudeness was sensibly felt by the unfor- 
tunate queen. 

On the 19th of December, she addressed her 
last requests to Elizabeth. They were, that she 
might be allowed to send to her son a jewel and 
her blessing ; that her corpse might be conveyed 
to France, and deposited near that of her mother ; 
that her servants might be allowed to retain the 
small bequests which she intended to make them ; 
and that she might be executed in public. In 
this letter she carefully avoided every expression 
which might be interpreted as a petition for 
mercy. After having given thanks to Heaven 

* See Appendix, No. 12. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 311 

for giving her strength to support so much in- 
justice, Mary concluded with these words : " Do 
not accuse me of presumption, if, on abandoning 
this world and preparing for a better, I warn you 
that you will one day have to render an account, 
as well as those who go before you." It is said 
that Elizabeth shed tears, and answered nothing ; 
but it is more probable that this letter never 
reached her. 

Meanwhile, Henry III., though he sincerely 
hated the house of Guise, could not see with 
indifference the head of a princess, who had worn 
the crown of France, fall beneath the axe of the 
executioner. He sent an ambassador extraordi- 
nary, who was detained by various obstacles, 
and who obtained no answer. After his depart- 
ure, the resident ambassador wished to resume 
negotiations ; but they pretended the discovery 
of a conspiracy in which he himself was impli- 
cated ; his secretary was arrested, and his papers 
seized. After the death of the queen, apologies 
were offered ; false information was alleged, and 
the ambassador and his master were loaded with 
compliments and praise. Henry III. was, in- 
deed, somewhat feared. The King of Scotland 
interceded eagerly, and joined menaces to en- 
treaties ; but if he was sincere, he committed the 



312 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

inexcusable fault of employing the same Gray, 
whose perfidy had akeady rendered a former 
negotiation abortive. In pablic. Gray solicited 
earnestly ; in private, he urged Elizabeth with 
all his power to immolate her victim, and inti- 
mated that James would not be sorry to be rid 
of his mother.* 

After the publication of the sentence, Eliza- 
beth spent two months in a state of apparent 
irresolution ; but she was often heard to lament 
that among the thousands of men who professed 
attachment for her, not one would spare her the 
necessity of dipping her hands in the queen's 
blood. Once she even said, " Surely Paulet and 
Drury " — the latter had been lately appointed 
additional keeper of Mary — " might ease me 
of this burden. Walsingham and yourself," said 

* "Meantime, while the hated object of her guilty purpose was 
submitting to her hard destiny with the dignity of a queen and the 
resignation of a mart}T, Elizabeth was distracted with gloomy and 
perplexing thoughts. She gave herself up to solitariness, sat mute, 
and was frequently heard to sigh deeply, and mutter to herself, Aut 
fer, aut feri — Either bear with her, or strike home ; alluding, says 
Camden, to a certain emblem, Ne feriari, feH — Strike, lest thou 
be stricken. In this temper of her mind there was one at her elbow 
to prompt dark counsels, which, however, were but little needed. 
Mortiia non mordet — The dead bite not — was a well-timed saw, 
whispered in her ear by the treacherous Master of Gray." — Walter'a 
Journal of Mary's Captivity. 



LIFE OF Mary stuart. 313 

she to Davison, her secretary, " must sound their 
disposition." Elizabeth had already endeavored 
to excite the imagination and devotedness of 
Paulet by writing a letter to him, in which she 
loads him with praise and flattery, styling him 
my Amias^ my most faithful servant, and promis- 
ing him an extraordinary reward, non omnibus 
datum. 

In compliance with the queen's wishes, a let- 
ter was forwarded to Paulet and Drury, in which 
they were informed that the queen complained 
of their lack of zeal, otherwise they would have 
already terminated the captive's days. Had they 
not taken the oath of association ? What mo- 
tive should restrain them, now" that Mary was 
tried and condemned ? Paulet answered imme- 
diately that his goods and life were at the queen's 
disposal, but that he would not shed another's 
blood without being authorized by law or war- 
rant. On the 1st of February, Elizabeth for- 
bade Davison taking the executioner's warrant 
to the chancellor ; and when she learned that the 
seal had been already affixed, she expressed her 
surprise and her persuasion that the death of the 
Scottish queen might be better accomplished by 
some other expedient. The following day she 
repeated the same language ; and when she saw 
27 



314 LIFE OP MARY STUART. 

the answer of Paulet, he was no longer her 
Amias, her most faithful servant, but a precise 
and dainty fellow^ who promised much and per- 
formed nothing, who would perjure himself in 
order to shift the blame from his own shoulders 
upon hers. . 

Davison now felt alarmed. From the ambigu- 
ous language of the queen, he knew not whether 
to detain or to forward the warrant ; and, to ex- 
onerate himself, he delivered it to Lord Bur- 
leigh, from whom he had received it originally. 
That noble assembled a council, (4th of Febru- 
ary,) by which it was decided that the queen had 
done all that could be expected of her, and that 
it was now the duty of the council to assume 
the responsibility of the execution. Conse- 
quently the secretary of the council w*as ordered 
to expedite the warrant. On the 7th, Earl Mar- 
shal Shrewsbury was announced to the Queen 
of Scots ; his presence at Fotheringay instantly 
suggested the fatal object of his visit. The 
queen immediately rose from her bed, dressed, 
and seated herself near a small table, after hav- 
ing ranged her servants and women on each side. 
The earl entered uncovered, followed by the Earl 
of Kent, the sheriff, and several gentlemen of the 
county. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 315 

Mary heard the warrant read without exhibit- 
ing any emotion. The reading concluded, she 
crossed herself, and said the day she had desired 
had at last arrived ; she could not terminate the 
twenty years of captivity she had undergone in 
a more glorious manner than by shedding her 
blood for her religion. She then enumerated the 
wrongs she had suffered, the offers which she had 
made, and the artifices employed by her enemies ; 
and in conclusion, placing her hand on a Testa- 
ment which was on the table, she added, " As 
for the death of the queen, your sovereign, I call 
God to witness that I never imagined it, never 
sought it, nor ever consented to it." " That 
book," said the fanatical Kent, " is a popish Tes- 
tament, and therefore the oath is null." " It is a 
Catholic Testament," rejoined the queen ; " for 
that reason I esteem it the more, and for the 
same reason you should regard my oath as the 
most sacred I can take." Kent then exhorted 
her to renounce all papistical superstition, save 
her soul, and accept the spiritual assistance of 
the Dean of Peterborough, a learned theologian. 
Mary requested that they would allow her that 
of her -almoner, which was harshly refused, on 
the ground that to yield to her request would be 
to expose the welfare of the souls of the com- 



316 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

missioners in another world, and their personal 
safety in this. A desultory conversation fol- 
lowed ; afterwards, turning towards Shrewsbury, 
she inquired when she was to suffer ; to which 
the earl answered, with considerable agitation, 
" To-morrow morning, at eight o'clock." It is 
said that when the earl was about to withdraw, 
Mary inquired what had become of Nau, and on 
learning that he was still in prison, she exclaimed 
that Nau was the cause of her death, and that 
he had brought her to the scaffold to save his 
own life. She had nevertheless heard her sen- 
tence with such calmness and dignity as to strike 
the beholders with respect and pity. 

When the earls had departed, all her attend- 
ants burst into groans and sobs ; but she imposed 
silence on them, saying, " This is not the time to 
weep, but to rejoice. In a few hours all my 
misfortunes will be over. My enemies may now 
say what they please ; but the Earl of Kent has 
betrayed the secret, that my religion is the real 
cause of my death. Be then resigned, and leave 
me to my devotions." She immediately com- 
menced praying, and after some time was called 
to supper. She ate sparingly, but before leaving 
the table, drank the health of her servants, who 
asked her pardon on their knees for any faults 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 317 

they had committed in her service. She forgave 
them cheerfully, asking forgiveness of them in 
•her turn, if she had at any time treated them 
unkindly. She then gave them some advice for 
their future conduct, and, it is said, again men- 
tioned her conviction that Nau was the cause of 
her death. 

Mary passed a part of the last night of her 
life in regulating her domestic affairs, in making 
her will, and in writing three letters, one to her 
confessor, one to her cousin of Guise, and the 
other to the King of France. She then occu- 
pied herself with various exercises of devotion, 
with her two maids of honor, Jane Kennedy and 
Elspeth Curie. About four in the morning she 
retired to rest, but was observed not to sleep. 
Her lips were in constant motion, and her mind 
seemed absorbed in prayer.* At early dawn she 

* It was during these solemn moments that tradition says she com- 
posed the following rhythmical prayer, the touching pathos and sim- 
plicity of which go to every heart : — 

Domine Deus, my Lord and my God, 
Speravi in Te ; All my hopes are in Thee ; 

care mi Jesu, In my need, dearest Jesu, 
Nunc libera me. succor thou me ! 

In dura catenS,, 'Midst fetters deep-galling, 

In miserSL poen§L, 'Midst ills deep-inthralling, 
Desidero Te ! My heart yearns for Thee ! 



27 



* 



318 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

summoned her servants, read her will to them, 
distributed among them her money and clothes, 
and bade them adieu, kissing the women, and. 
giving the men her hand to kiss. Weeping, they 
followed her into her oratory, where she took her 
place in front of the altar ; they knelt down and 
prayed behind her. 

About seven o'clock the doors of the great 
hall of the castle were thrown open. A scaffold 
had been erected in the middle, which was cov- 
ered with black serge, and surrounded with a 
low railing. The gentlemen of the county en- 
tered, with then' attendants ; these and Paulet's 
guard augmented the number of spectators to 
about two hundred. A little before eight o'clock 
a message was sent to the queen, who answered 
that she would be ready in half an hour. At 
the expiration of that time, Andrews, the sheriff, 
entered the oratory ; the queen immediately 
arose, taking the crucifix from the altar in her 
right hand, and carrying her prayer book in her 
left. Her servants wished to follow her, but 
were forbidden ; they insisted ; but the queen 

Languendo, gemendo, "While in anguish I languish, 

Et genuflectendo, Thus kneeling before Thee, 

Adoro, imploro, I adore, I implore Thee, 
Ut liberes me I In my need succor mel 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 319 

bade them desist, and, turning, gave them her 
blessing. They received it on their knees, some 
kissing her hands, others her mantle. The door 
closed, and a bm^st of lamentation from those 
within resounded through the hall. 

Mary was now joined by the earls and her 
wardens. At the foot of the staircase she was 
met by Melville, the steward of her household, 
who had been excluded from her presence for 
several weeks. This old and faithful servant 
cast himself on his knees before her, and, wring- 
ing his hands, exclaimed, " Ah, madam, unhappy 
that I am ! was ever man on earth the bearer of 
such sorrow as I shall be when I report that my 
good and gracious queen and mistress was be- 
headed *in England?" Here grief impeded his 
utterance. " Good Melville," said the queen to 
him, "cease to lament; thou hast rather cause 
to joy than mourn ; for this day shalt thou see 
the end of Mary Stuart's troubles. Know that 
this world is but vanity and vexation of spirit. 
Bear witness, I pray you, that I die a true woman 
to my religion, firm in my fidelity to Scotland, 
and unchanged in my affection to France. May 
God forgive them that have long thirsted for my 
blood, as the hart doth for brooks of water. O 
God I thou art the author of truth, and truth 



320 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

itself. Thou knowest the inner chamber of my 
thoughts, and that I always wished the union 
of England and Scotland. Commend me to 
my son, and tell him that I have done nothing 
prejudicial to the dignity or independence of his 
crown, or favorable to the pretended superiority 
of our enemies." Then bursting into tears, she 
said, " Good Melville, adieu ! " and kissing him, 
" Once again, good Melville, farewell, and pray 
for thy mistress and queen." It was, it is said, 
the first time in her life that she had been known 
to address any one by the pronoun thou. 

After this affecting scene, she made her last 
request, that her servants might be present at her 
death. But Kent objected that they would be 
troublesome by their grief and lamentations ; 
might practise some superstitious mummery; 
perhaps might dip their handkerchiefs in lier 
grace^s blood.* " My lords," said Mary, " I will 
give my word for them. They shall deserve no 
blame. Surely your mistress, being a maiden 
queen, will vouchsafe, in regard of womanhood, 
that I may have some of my women about me 
at my death." Receiving no answer, she con- 
tinued : " You might, I think, grant me a far 

* The wicked Kent used the expression her grace, instead of her 
majesty, to show that he did not consider her a queen. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 821 

greater courtesy were I a woman of lesser call- 
ing than the Queen of Scots." The two earls 
still remaining silent, she asked, with vehemence, 
" Am I not the cousin of your queen, a descend- 
ant of the blood royal of Henry VIL, a married 
queen of France, and the anointed queen of 
Scotland ? " The fanaticism of the Earl of 
Kent and the attendant lords could not with- 
stand so commanding an appeal; and it was 
resolved to admit four of her men and two of 
her women servants. She selected her steward, 
Melville, and her physician, apothecary, and sur- 
geon, with her maids, Kennedy and Curie. 

The melancholy procession now moved for- 
ward, headed by the sheriff and his officers ; next 
followed the wardens, Paulet and Drury, and the 
two earls ; lastly came the queen, clad in her 
richest dress, with Melville bearing her train. 
Her headdress was of fine lawn, edged with 
rich lace, with a veil of the same, thrown back 
and reaching to the ground. She wore a mantle 
of black printed satin, lined with black taffeta, 
and faced with sables, with a long train and 
open sleeves hanging to the ground. The but- 
tons were of jet, in the form of acorns, and set 
round with pearls ; the collar a V Italienne. Her 
purpoint (surcoat) was of black figured satin, 



322 LIFE OF MARY STiTaRT. 

and under it a bodice, unlaced on the back, of 
crimson satin, with the skirt of crimson velvet. 
A pomander chain with a cross of gold was sus- 
pended from her neck, and a pair of beads from 
her waist. 

Mary entered the hall with a firm and assured 
step, and did not shrink at the sight of the scaf- 
fold, the fatal block, and the executioner. To 
aid her in mounting the scaffold, Paulet offered 
his arm. " I thank you, sir," said Mary ; " it is 
the last trouble I shall give you, and the most 
acceptable service you have ever rendered me." 
She seated herself in the place prepared for her. 
On her right stood the two earls, on her left the 
sheriff and Beale, the clerk of the council, in 
front the executioner from the Tower, in a suit 
of black velvet, and his assistant, also clad in 
black. The warrant for her execution was then 
read by Beale, and immediately after Mary ad- 
dressed the assembly in a firm and audible voice. 
" Gentlemen," said she, " I would have you re- 
member, that I am a sovereign princess, not sub- 
ject to the Parliament of England, but brought 
hither to suffer by injustice and violence. I thank 
God, however, for giving me this opportunity to 
make a public profession of my faith. I declare 
that I die, as I have lived, in the bosom of the 



LIFE OF MARY STUART.. 323 

Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church ; I de- 
clare, besides, that I have never imagined, nor 
compassed, nor consented to, any plot against the 
life of the Queen of England,* to whom I have 
never wished any harm. I pardon all those 
who have pursued me so implacably for twenty 

years :" 

Fletcher, Dean of Peterborough, whom the 
Earl of Kent considered a great theologian, but 
who, on this fatal day, showed only a bitter, im- 
perious, and unjust zeal, hastily interrupted the 

* It is possible that after twenty years' captivity, as severe as it 
was unjust, Mary Stuart desired the death of Elizabeth, as likely to 
restore her to liberty ; but the question v^'as not if she had that desire, 
but if she had really kno^vn and favored Babington's project. The 
negative appears to be the manifest conclusion. The whole testi- 
mony against her consists in a copy of a letter pretended to have 
been \vi-itten by her ; but the simple copy of a non-produced paper is 
without weight in law. The declaration of Babington, who does not 
affirm, but who only believes that the copy resembles the original 
letter, can but create a simple doubt, which is destroyed by the posi- 
tive denial of Mary. The declaration of the secretary Nau — a decla- 
ration which was not refuted, because this man was never confronted 
with her whom he accused — merits very little confidence, especially 
when it is considered that during the queen's last moments, Nau 
tranquilly awaited in Walsingham's residence an opportunity to re- 
turn to France. Sir Walter Scott, in his History of Scotland, although 
he shows himself on all occasions an enemy to Catholics, says ex- 
pressly that the proofs alleged against the Queen of Scots were such 
that the life of the vilest criminal would not have been endangered 
by them, and, nevertheless, the commissioners had the base cruelty 
to condemn a queen. 



324 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

queen to inform her, in a brutal tone, that his 
mistress, Queen Elizabeth, although compelled to 
execute justice on her body, was careful of the 
welfare of her soul ; that she had sent him to bring 
her to the true fold of Christ, out of the commu- 
nion of which church if she remained, she must 
be damned ; that she might yet find mercy before 
God, if she would repent of her wickedness, ac- 
knowledge the justice of her punishment, and 
profess her gratitude for the favors she had re- 
ceived from Elizabeth. 

Mary repeatedly requested Dr. Fletcher not to 
trouble himself and her. "O my God!" said 
she, " why have you permitted this man to oc- 
cupy these bitter moments ! Ah, since you yet 
reserve this trial for me, at least give me strength 
to bear it without a murmur." He persisted : 
she turned aside. Then this madman, making 
the circuit of the scaffold, again addressed her in 
front.* Shrewsbury partly concluded this scan- 
dalous scene by ordering Fletcher to pray. He 
obeyed with ill grace, and his prayer was only a 
continuation of his exhortation. 

* Such treatment as this on the part of a dignitary of the church 
could only have been the effect of instruction from his superiors. 
There are evidences that he hoped by brutality like this to commend 
himself at court. He was shortly after made Bishop of London. — 
Robertson. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 325 

Mary did not listen, but prayed fervently, and 
recited in a loud voice, and in the Latin language, 
long passages from the book of Psalms. When 
the dean had concluded, she prayed in English 
for the Catholic Church, for her son, and for 
Elizabeth, and protested her innocence for the 
last time, praying Heaven to refuse her mercy 
if she spoke not the truth. " I pray Thee that 
my soul may be perpetually deprived of all par- 
ticipation in your mercy and grace, and of the 
hoped-for and expected fruit of the death and 
passion of your most dear Son I " On conclud- 
ing her prayer, she held up the crucifix, and ex- 
claimed, " As thy arms, O my Saviour, were 
extended on the cross, so receive me into the 
arms of thy mercy, and pardon all my sins ! " 

All those present, though Protestants with the 
exception of Mary's servants, being moved with a 
holy respect, awaited in mournful silence the close 
of this terrible drama. The Earl of Kent alone 
had the heinous courage to insult Mary's religious 
sentiments by crying out to her to lay aside such 
popish trumperies. At this moment the two 
maids of honor, bathed in tears, commenced un- 
robing their mistress ; but the executioners, fearful 
of losing their usual perquisites, hastily inter- 
28 



326 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

fered.* The queen at first remonstrated ; but a 
moment after receiving this humiliation, she 
submitted to their rudeness, observing to the 
earls with a smile, that she was not accustomed 
to undress in the presence of so numerous a 
company, nor be served by such valets. 

At the sight of their sovereign in so forlorn a 
condition, Mary's attendants could no longer 
suppress their feelings : but she made them an 
expressive sign to keep silence, gave them her 
blessing, and solicited their prayers. Kennedy 
then taking a handkerchief, edged with gold, 
pinned it over her eyes : the executioners, hold- 
ing her by the arms, led her to the block, on 
which would close her doom ; and the queen, 
kneeling down, said repeatedly, " Into thy hands, 
O Lord, I commend my spirit." At this mo- 
ment sobs and groans burst from the spectators, 
and disconcerted the headsman. He trembled, 
missed his aim, and inflicted a deep wound in 
the lower part of the skull. The queen remained 
motionless ; and at the third stroke her head was 
severed from her body. When the executioner 
held it up, the muscles of the face were so 
strongly convulsed, that the features of the Queen 

* All these articles were claimed by the executioner, but were 
relinquished by hina for a sum of money. 



LIFE OF MARY STUART. 327 

of Scots could be with difficulty recognized. 
" God save Queen Elizabeth I " cried the execu- 
tioner, as usual, holding up the bloody head. 
(8th of February, 1587.)* 

" So perish all her enemies I " subjoined Dean 
Fletcher, who at this moment undoubtedly forgot 
that he was a minister of a rehgion of peace, 
benevolence, and love — of a religion which 
teaches us to pardon our enemies, that we, in our 
turn, may obtain pardon for our sins. Fletch- 
er's voice would have found no echo in the hall, 
had not the savage Kent responded, " So perish 
all enemies of the gospel I " These demoniac 
words died away under the arched roof of the 
hall. Every one retired sadly, wiping away by 
stealth the tears of which malevolence would 
have made a crime ; it would have been a crime, 
indeed, to have dared lament and admire the un- 
fortunate, the noble Mary Stuart ! 



Father Southwell, the celebrated Jesuit and 

* The queen's corpse was embalmed the same day in the presence 
of Paulet and the sheriff, and deposited in a leaden coffin, which 
was left in the same hall until the 1st of August, when it was in- 
terred -with pomp in the abbey church of Peterborough. Twenty-five 
years later it was transferred to Westminster, by order of James, 
October 11, 1612. 



328 LIFE OF MARY STUART. 

poet, who was a martyr to his faith under Eliza- 
beth, (1595,) has left an Elegy on Mary's death, 
' an extract from which may not be unacceptable 
to the reader : — 

Alive a queen, now dead I am a saint ; 

Once Mary called, my name now Martyr is : 
From earthly rule debarred by long restraint, 

Now do I reign supreme in heavenly bliss. 

The scaflFold was my couch, where ease I found, 
The block a pillow to my sainted rest ; 

The headsman cast me in a blissful swound ; 
His axe cut off sad cares from cumbered breast. 

Rue not my death — rejoice at my repose ; 

It was no death to me, but to my woe : 
The bud was opened to let out the rose, 

The chain unloos'd to let the captive go. 



APPENDIX. 



28* 



(329) 



APPENDIX* 



No. 1. 

Tlie Queen of Scots to the Archbishop of 
Glasgow, 

Most Reverend Father in God and trusty 
counsellor : We greet ye well. We have re- 
ceived this morning your letters of the 27th of 
January, by your servant Robert Drury, contain- 
ing in one part such advertisement as we find by 
effect to be ever true, though the success has not 
altogether been such as the authors of that mis- 
chievous fact had preconceived in their minds, 
and would have put in execution, if God in his 
mercy had not preserved us ; and reserved us, as 
we trust, to the end that we may take a vigorous 
vengeance of that mischievous deed, which ere 

* The letters here given are selected from Professor Walter's 
Journal of Mary Queen of Scots' Captivity. They are mostly 
translated from the French. 

(831) 



332 • APPENDIX. 

it should remain unpunished, we had rather lose 

life and all. The matter is horrible, and so 

strange, that we believe the like was never heard 

of in any country. This night past, being the 

9th of February, a little after two hours from 

midnight, the house wherein the king was lodged 

was, in an instant, blown into the air, he lying 

sleeping in his bed, and with such vehemency, 

that of the whole lodging, walls and all, there is 

nothing remaining, no, not a stone above another, 

but all either carried far away, or dinig' in dross 

[reduced to dust] to the very ground stone. It 

must be done by force of powder, and appears 

to have been a mine. By whom it has been 

done, or in what manner, appears not as yet. 

We doubt not but according to the diligence our 

council has begun already to use, the certainty of 

all shall be vsit [made known] shortly ; and the 

same being discovered, which we wot God will 

never suffer to lie hid, we hope to punish the 

same with such rigor as shall serve for example 

of this cruelty to all ages to come. Whoever 

have taken this wicked enterprise in hand, we 

assure ourselves it was dressed [prepared] as well 

for us as for the king ; for we lay the most part of 

all the last week in that same lodging, and were 

there accompanied by the most part of the lords 



APPENDIX. 333 

that were in this town. That same night, at 
midnight, and of very chance, we tarried not all 
night, by reason of some mask in the abbey ; but 
we believe it was not chance, but God, that put 
it in our head. We have despatched this bearer 
upon the sudden, and, therefore, write to you 
but shortly. The rest of your letter we shall an- 
swer at more leisure, within four or five days, by 
your own servant. And so, for the present, we 

commit you to Almighty God. 

Marie R. 

At Edinbuegh, the \Uh day of February, 1567. 



No. 2. 

Mary to Elizabeth, 

Madam, my good Sister : I believe you are 
not ignorant how long it is since certain of 
my subjects, whom, from being the least in my 
kingdom, I raised to be the greatest, have endeav- 
ored to involve me in trouble, and have made it 
apparent what was their aim from the beginning. 
You know how they proposed to seize me and 
the late king my husband, from which attempt 
it pleased God to deliver us, and to permit us to 
drive them out of the country ; where, at your 



334 APPENDIX. 

request, I received them afterwards, though on 
their return they committed another crime in 
holding me a prisoner, and killing in my presence 
a servant of mine, I being at the time far ad- 
vanced in a state of pregnancy. It again pleased 
God that I should escape from their hands ; and, 
as before stated, I not only pardoned them, but 
received them again into favor. Not contented, 
however, with so many tokens of kindness, they 
have, notwithstanding their promises, devised, 
promoted, subscribed to, and aided in the com- 
mission of a crime, for the purpose of falsely 
charging it upon me, as I hope clearly to make 
appear to you. Under this pretext, they took 
arms against me, and accusing me of bad coun- 
sel, they pretended a desire to see me delivered 
from bad company, in order to show me various 
things that required reformation. Conscious of 
my innocence, and desirous to avoid the shedding 
of blood, I committed myself to their hands, be- 
ing willing to reform whatever was amiss. They 
immediately seized upon me, and committed me 
to prison. When I reproached them with a 
breach of their promise, and required to be in- 
formed why they thus treated me, they all kept 
away from my presence : I then demanded to be 
heard in council ; this was refused me. In short, 



APPENDIX. 335 

they sought in every way to annoy me; they 
deprived me of all my. servants, except tvvo wo- 
men, a cook, and a surgeon. They threatened 
to kill me if I did not sign an abdication of my 
crown ; which the fear of immediate death caused 
me to do, as I have declared before the whole 
nobility, upon testimony I hope to show you. 
After this, they again called me to account, ac- 
cusing and proceeding against me in Parliament, 
without condescending to give me any reason 
for the same, without granting me a hearing, 
without allowing me ^n advocate to speak for 
me, compelling every one to acquiesce in their 
false usurpation of my power, pillaging me of 
all I had in the world; never permitting me 
either to write or speak, that I might not expose 
their falsehoods and their wicked machinations. 
At last, it has pleased God to deliver me from 
them, at the very moment they were meditating 
to put me to death, in order more firmly to 
insure their usurpations. In the mean time, I 
repeatedly offered to answer any thing they had 
to allege against me, and to assist them in bring- 
ing the guilty to punishment. At last, it has 
pleased God to release me, to the great joy of all 
my subjects, except Murray, Morton, the Humes, 
Glencairn, Marr, and Semple, to whom, after the 



336 APPENDIX. 

whole nobility had flocked to me from all quar- 
ters, I sent to say, that, notwithstanding their 
ingratitude and cruelty to me, I willingly invited 
them to return to their duty, offering them se- 
cm-ity for their lives and their fortunes, and prom- 
ising them to call a Parliament for the adjust- 
ment of every difficulty. Twice did I send to 
them. They seized and imprisoned my messen- 
gers, and issued proclamations, declaring all who 
assisted me traitors, and enemies of their country. 
A second time did I send to them, proposing an 
accommodation ; again they seized my messen- 
ger. I sent to demand a safe conduct for my 
Lord Boyd, whom I commissioned to treat with 
them, anxious that no blood should be shed on 
my account. They refused, saying, that, unless 
all my followers returned to their duty to the 
regent, and to my son, whom they style king, we 
should be abandoned to our fate. At this inso- 
lence all my nobility were greatly offended, and 
expressed their attachment to me more warmly 
than ever. I was, therefore, in hopes, that, in 
the course of time, and with your power, this 
faction would gradually be reduced. In the mean 
time, as they threatened another act of violence 
against me, swearing that they would effect their 
purpose, or perish in the attempt, I set forward 



APPENDIX. 337 

to Dumbarton, passing at the distance of two 
miles from them, my nobility accompanying me 
in battle array, being interposed between me and 
the rebels. At this moment an effort was made 
to cut off my passage, and seize my person. My 
troops seeing this, and irritated at an advantage 
sought to be gained by the rebels in point of 
position, engaged them without order, so that it 
was the will of Heaven they should be discom- 
fited, and that many should be slain and taken 
prisoners ; some, who were taken, in their retreat, 
were cruelly put to death. The pursuit was im- 
naediately suspended, in order to seize me on the 
way to Dumbarton, and bodies of troops were 
despatched in every direction to take me, dead 
or alive. But God, of his infinite goodness, has 
preserved me ; I escaped to my Lord Herries ; 
who, with other gentlemen, has come with me 
into your country. We feel assured, that, when 
you are informed of the cruelty of my enemies, 
and of the manner in which they have treated 
me, you will, agreeably to the natural kindness 
of your disposition, and the faith which I have 
in you, not only receive me for the security of 
my life, but aid and assist me in my just cause. 
For this purpose, I mean also to have recourse 
to other princes, to interest them in my behalf. 
29 



338 APPENDIX. 

I beg as soon as possible that you will send 
for me, for I am in a very pitiable condition, not 
merely for a queen, but for a gentlewoman. I 
have nothing in the world but what I had on 
my person when I escaped, having travelled sixty 
miles across the country the first day, and not 
daring to proceed afterwards but in the night 
time. All the particulars I hope to declare in 
your presence, if it please you to have pity, as I 
trust you will, upon my extreme misfortune. I 
forbear stating more of my grievances at present, 
in order not to importune you. I pray God to 
give you health, and a long and happy life ; and 
to me patient resignation, and that solace which 
I hope to receive from your sympathy and in- 
dulgence. 

Your most faithful and affectionate good sister 

and cousin, and escaped prisoner, 

Marie R. 
From "Workington, this I7th day of May, (1568.) 



No. 3. 

Mary to Elizabeth. 



Madam, my good Sister: I thank you for 
the desire which you have to hear the justifica- 



APPENDIX. 339 

tion of my honor, as it is a subject that concerns 
all princes, and particularly yourself, to whom I 
have the honor to be so nearly allied by blood ; 
but it does appear to me, that they who persuade 
you that my reception will turn to your dishonor, 
maintain the very contrary. But, ah, madam, 
when did you ever hear of a prince blamed for 
listening in person to the .complaints of those 
who grieve at being falsely accused ? Banish 
from your mind, madam, the idea that I am 
come here for the safety of my life ; neither Scot- 
land nor the world have renounced me. I am 
come to reclaim my honor, and to sue for aid to 
chastise my false accusers ; not to answer them 
as their equals, but to accuse them before you, 
whom I have chosen among all other princes, as 
my nearest relative and perfect friend ; doing 
you, as I wish to think, an honor in naming 
you the restorer of a queen, who was desirous to 
receive this benefit at your hands, and to be 
grateful for the same during my whole life, prov- 
ing my innocence before your very eyes, and 
convincing you how falsely they have dealt with 
me. But I see, to my deep regret, that things 
are interpreted otherwise. As to what you tell 
me, that you are counselled, by persons of high 
consideration, to be upon your guard in this 



340 APPENDIX. 

affair, God forbid that I should be the cause of 
your dishonor ; my intention being the very con- 
trary. You will, therefore, be pleased, since my 
affairs demand such great despatch, to do what 
other princes would in like case perform ; and in 
order to avoid any blame in that regard, permit 
me to have recourse to those who will receive 
me without any fears of this kind. Take any 
guarantee from me you think fit, that, if here- 
after required, — which I think it can never be, — 
I may surrender myself and my cause into your 
hands. But now, let me be restored to my state, 
replaced in my honors, and vindicated in the 
eyes of the world. Then will I come to lay my 
cause before you, and to justify my honor, and 
that from the friendship which I bear you, and 
not under the humiliating necessity of replying 
to my false subjects, and that without the credit, 
as it appears to me, which is given to those who 
are unworthy of the same. First, extend to me 
your favor and suitable aid, and then see if I am 
worthy of the same. Should the reverse prove 
true, and my demands be found unjust, or to 
your prejudice or dishonor, it will then be time to 
discharge yourself of me, and to allow me to seek 
my fortune elsewhere, without hinderance or mol- 
estation. For, being innocent, as thank God, I 



APPENDIX. 341 

know myself to be, do not wrong me by keeping 
me here in prison, and transferring me, as it were, 
from one prison to another, encouraging my 
enemies to persevere in their false and obstinate 
accusations, and striking terror into my friends, 
and disinclining them to afford me the aid they 
had promised. All the good and the honorable 
are on my side ; by any delay I may lose them, 
or they may be induced to change, and then 
should I have to begin the whole work anew. 

Through my regard for you, I have pardoned 
those who now seek my ruin, of which I may be 
compelled before Heaven to accuse you ; and 
fearful I am that these delays of yours may make 
me lose all. Excuse my frankness ; but I owe 
it to myself to speak to you without reserve. 
You have received into your presence a bastard 
brother of mine, who is a fugitive from me and 
from justice ; and you refuse the same favor to 
me, though I come to you in the justice of my 
cause, and which I fear is retarded on account 
of that very justice ; it is an old-fashioned way 
of patching up a bad cause, to stop the mouth of 
defenders. I know it was the object of John 
Wood's commission to procure this delay, the 
surest- remedy of an unjust cause, and of their 
usurped authority. I, therefore, entreat you, 
29* 



342 APPENDIX. 

either to aid my cause, and lay me under an ex- 
ternal obligation, or to remain neuter, and permit 
me to do the best for myself elsewhere ; for by 
protracting things, you will do more to ruin me 
than all my enemies together. If you are in 
dread of blame, at least, through the confidence 
I have reposed in you, neither stir for me nor 
against me. Leave me at full liberty to vindi- 
cate my honor ; for here I neither can nor will 
answer their false accusations. My desire is, in 
a kind and friendly way, to come and justify my- 
self towards you, not in the form of a trial with 
my subjects, unless their hands were tied. No, 
madam, there is nothing in common between me 
and my rebel subjects ; and as to treating with 
them here as my equals, I would rather undergo 
death itself than submit to such indignity. 

And now, laying aside the language of a good 
sister, let me beg of you, madam, by your honor, 
to send back my Lord Herries to me without 
delay, with assurances of that aid and support 
which he has requested on my part. I have been 
all this time without any answer from yourself 
or him, or any assurance thereupon. I have also 
to request of you, that, as I came freely to render 
myself into your hands, where I have been so 
long without any certitude, to command my Lord 



APPENDIX. 343 

Scrope to permit my subjects, to the number of 
one, two, or three, to have liberty to come and 
return, that I may not be deprived of all intelli- 
gence with my subjects ; otherwise, this would 
be to cut off my defence, and to condemn me 
unheard. Would to God you could have known 
in few words what I intended to say ; I would 
not have detained you so long. I do not blame 
you for this conduct towards me ; but I hope, in 
spite of all their specious offers and falsely-col- 
ored discourses, you will find me a more advan- 
tageous friend to you than they can be. I will 
enter into particulars only by word of mouth. 
And so I make an end of my humble recom- 
mendations to your good grace, praying God to 
grant you, madam, my good sister, good health 
and long life. 

Your very good sister and cousin, 

Marie R. 

From Carlisle, {June Wth, 1568.) 



No. 4. 
Mary to Elizabeth. 

Madam : Though the necessity of my cause 
makes me importunate, yet I trust that, upon 



344 APPENDIX. 

reflection, you will not find me unreasonable. 
Impartial minds, not moved by the feelings by 
which you are actuated, would think that I do 
no other than as my cause requires. Madam, I 
do not believe that, of yourself, you are devoid 
of good inclination towards me ; but there are 
those who influence your mind ; for I must have 
taken leave of my senses not to perceive a very 
poor furtherance of my affairs since my coming 
hither. I thought I had abeady said enough to 
you relative to the inconveniences which delay 
brings to my cause, and the advantage which it 
gives to my rebellious subjects, who, I am told, 
intend holding a Parliament next month. And 
then the dishonor done, to listen to their request 
to have commissioners sent to be heard against 
me, as if I were the meanest subject. What I 
asked of you, madam, was permission to come 
to your presence, and make my statement to you 
relative to the falsehoods they have set forth 
against me. If I could not clear myself of the 
same, then you might discharge yourself of my 
cause. But that my subjects should be allowed 
to come as my agents and accuse me, of that I 
cannot allow. If you find it against your honor 
to admit me to your presence, suffer me at least 



APPENDIX. 345 

to go into France, where I have a dowry for my 
support. 

There are many things that move me to fear, 
that I shall have to do in this country with oth- 
ers than with you. But inasmuch as nothing 
followed upon my last complaint, I hold my 
peace. Happen what may, I had as lief abide 
my fortune, as to seek it and not find it. Fur- 
ther, it pleased you to give license to my subjects 
to go and come ; this has been refused me by 
my Lord Scrope and Knollys, as they say by 
your command, because I would not depart 
hence to your charge till I had answer to this 
letter ; though I showed them that you required 
iTfiy answer upon the two points contained in 
your letter. The one is, to let you briefly under- 
stand, that I desire to come to you to make my 
complaint, Avhich being heard, I A,vould declare 
to you my innocency, and then require your aid. 
And for lack thereof, I cannot but make my 
complaint to God, that 1 am not heard in my 
just quarrel ; and to appeal to other princes to 
have respect thereto, as my case requires ; and to 
you, madam, first of aU, when you shall have 
examined your conscience, and have him for 
witness. Again, as to coming further into your 



346 APPENDIX. 

country, and not come to your presence, 1 must 
esteem that as no favor, but, on the contrary, 
take it as a thing forced. In the mean time, I 
beseech you to return to me my Lord Herries, 
for I cannot be without him, having none of my 
council here ; and also to suffer me, if it please 
you, without further delay, to depart hence, 
whithersoever it be, out of this country. I am 
sure you will not deny me this simple request, 
for your honor's sake : the naturaJ goodness of 
your heart cannot determine otherwise. Seeing 
that of my own accord I am come hither, let me 
depart again with yours. And if God permit 
my cause to prosper, I shall be bound to you for 
it; and if it happen otherwise, yet I cannot 
blame you. 

As for my Lord Fleming, since upon my credit 
you have suffered him to go to his home, I war- 
rant you he will pass no farther, but will return 
when it shall please you. Provided you trust 
me, 1 will not, to die for it, deceive you. With 
respect to Dumbarton, I answer not for that, 
should my Lord Fleming be in the Tower ; for 
they that are within it will not fail to receive 
succors, if I do not assure them of yours. No, 
they would not, though you should impute to 



APPENDIX. 



347 



me the consequences ; for my charge to them has 
been, to have more respect to my servants and 
my estate than to my life. 

Good sister, be of another mind. Win the 
heart, and all shall be yours and at your com- 
mand. I thought to have satisfied you wholly, 
if I might but have seen you. Alas I do not as 
the serpent doth that stoppeth his hearing, for I 
am no enchanter, but your sister and natural 
cousin. Had not Caesar disdained to hear or 
redress the complaint of an applicant, he had 
not died as he did. Why should princes' ears be 
stopped, seeing they are painted in large ; mean- 
ing that they should hear all, and be well ad- 
vised before they answer. I am not of the nature 
of the basilisk, and less of the chameleon, to turn 
you to my likeness ; and though I v/ere so dan- 
gerous and cursed as men say, you are suf- 
ficiently armed with constancy and with justice, 
which I beg of God to give you his grace to use 
well, with long and happy life. 

Your good sister and cousin, 

Marie R. 

Carlisle, this oth of July, 1568. 



348 APPENDIX. 

No. 5. 

Mary to Elizabeth* 

Madam : The late conspiracies in Scotland 
against my poor child, and my fears for the con- 
sequence, grounded on my self-experience, call 
upon me to employ the remainder of my life and 
strength, fully to discharge my heart of my just 
complaints, which I do in the present letter. I 
trust that as long as you survive me, it may 
serve as an eternal testimony, and be engraven 
on your conscience, as well for my acquittance 
to posterity, as for the shame and confusion of 
all those, who, under your connivance, have up 
to this hour so cruelly and unworthily treated 
me, and reduced me to the extremity in which I 

* "Mary's letters," says Robertson of Dalmeny, " are numerous, 
able, and eloquent. Among them is particularly to be mentioned the 
letter to Elizabeth on occasion of the captivity of her son, and the 
machinations against herself and him, abetted by the English queen. 
No person can read that letter without a certain degree of astonish- 
ment. It is difficult to say, whether the pathetic, or the grand, shine 
most conspicuous. To it the admirers of Mary may refer, as a ground 
of their panegyric, whether considered in reference to the greatness 
of mind which it displays, the solemnity that reigns throughout, the 
piety which it breathes, the chain of arguments which is maintained, 
the eloquence with which it glows, or the bold and just reproach with 
which it fearlessly brands thfe English queen." 



APPENDIX. 849 

am. But as their designs and practices, detes- 
table as they are, have always prevailed against 
my just remonstrances and honest deportment, 
and as the power w^hich you have in your hands 
has always been your justification in the eyes of 
men, I will have recourse to the living God, our 
only Judge, who, under him, has established us 
equally and immediately for the government of 
his people. I will invoke him, in the extremity 
of this my pressing affliction, to render to you 
and to myself (as he will do in the last judg- 
ment) the due of our merits and demerits, one 
towards the other. And remember, madam, 
that from him we can disguise nothing by the 
paint and policy of the world ; though my ene- 
mies, under you, have been able, for a time, to 
cover from the eyes of men, peradventure from 
your own, their subtle inventions. In his name, 
and as it were before him, seated between you 
and myself, I would remind you, that by means 
of the agents, spies, and secret messengers, sent 
in your name into Scotland, while I was there, 
my subjects were corrupted and encouraged to 
rebel against me, to make attempts against my 
person ; in a word, to speak, undertake, and exe- 
cute all that led to the troubles which have be- 
* 

fallen my country. 
30 



350 APPENDIX. 

During my imprisonment in Lochleven, the 
late Throgmorton counselled me on yom* part to 
sign that abdication, which he told me it was 
advisable to do, assuring me that it would not 
be valid. And nowhere in Christendom has it 
since been held as valid, or maintained as such, 
except by you, even to the assisting the authors of 
it by open force. On your conscience, madam, 
would you have recognized an equal liberty and 
power in your own subjects ? And yet by the 
same men has my authority been transferred to 
my son, and that too when he was incapable of 
exercising it. And when I afterwards sought 
lawfully to assure him of the same, he being of 
an age to act for himself, it was suddenly wrested 
from him, and assigned over to two or three trai- 
tors, who, having taken from him the effective- 
ness of it, will take from him, as they have from 
me, both the name and title, and perhaps his 
life, if God does not provide for his preservation. 

When I had escaped from Lochleven, and was 
ready to give battle to the rebels, I remitted to 
you by a gentleman express a diamond ring, 
which I had formerly received as a token from 
you, under the assurance of being succored by 
you against my rebellious subjects ; nay, more, 
that should I seek refuge with you, you would 



APPENDIX. 351 

come to the very frontier to assist me ; and this 
was confirmed to me by divers naessengers. 

This promise, coming from your lips, and 
being repeated by you, (though I had oftentimes 
found myself abused by your ministers,) made 
me place such trust in you, that when my army 
was routed, I came directly to throw myself into 
your arms, had I been permitted so to do. But 
while I was deliberating about repairing to you, 
there was I arrested half way, surrounded by 
guards, secured in strong places, and at last re- 
duced, all shame set aside, to the captivity in 
which I am now languishing, after the thousand 
deaths which I have already suffered from it. I 
know that you will allege against me what 
passed between the late Duke of Norfolk and 
myself. I maintain that there was nothing there- 
in to your prejudice, nor against the public good 
of your realm ; and that the treaty was sanc- 
tioned by the advice and signatures of the first 
men then in your council, with the assurance of 
obtaining your approval. For a long time I 
have been trying whether patience would soften 
the rigor and ill treatment which for these ten 
years past they have made me suffer. I have 
strictly followed the order prescribed me in my 
captivity in this house, as well in regard to the 



852 APPENDIX. 

number and quality of the servants retained by 
me, dismissing the others, as for my diet and 
ordinary exercise for my health. I am living till 
the present as quietly and peaceably as one 
much inferior to myself, submitting, in order to 
take away every shadow of distrust, to remain 
without any intelligence of rriy son and my 
country, which by no right or reason could be 
denied me, especially in regard to my child, whom 
they labored in every way to prejudice against 
me, in order to w^eaken us by our disunion. 

In conclusion, a more unworthy treatment 
from day to day, in spite of all my efforts not to 
deserve it, together with my too long, useless, 
and pitiful patience, have reduced me so low 
that my enemies, in their habit of treating me 
ill, have brought themselves to think that they 
have the right of proscription for so treating me, 
not as a prisoner, which in reason I cannot be, 
but as some -slave, whose life and death depended 
solely upon their tyranny. 

I cannot, madam, submit to it any longer. 
Either dying, I must discover the authors of my 
death, or, living, attempt, under your protection, 
to put an end to the cruelties, calumnies, and 
traitorous designs of my enemies, in order to 
insure me, for the remainder of my days, some- 



APPENDIX. 353 

what more of rest and repose. To take away 
the pretended occasions of difference between 
us, inform yourself, if you please, of the truth 
of all that has been reported to you relative to 
my conduct; review the depositions of the 
strangers taken in Ireland ; let those of the Jes- 
uits recently executed be represented to you; 
give liberty to those who would undertake to 
charge me publicly, and permit me to enter upon 
my defence. If any evil be found in me, let me 
suffer, which I shall do with patience when I 
know the occasion of it; if any good, through 
the high charge wherewith you are invested be- 
fore God and man, suffer me not to be worse 
treated for it. The vilest criminals in your 
prisons, born under yom* jurisdiction, are admit- 
ted to their justification, and their accusers and 
their accusations are always declared to them. 
Why, then, shall not the same order have place 
towards me, a sovereign queen, your nearest rel- 
ative and lawful heir? This last relation in 
which I stand to you has, methinks, been hither- 
to the principal cause of all the calumnies de- 
vised against me by my enemies, to keep us in 
division, by insinuating between us their own 
unjust pretensions, But, alas ! they have but 
little reason at present for thus tormenting me ; 
30* 



354 APPENDIX. 

for I protest to you, upon mine honor, that I look 
this day for no other kingdom than that of my 
God, for which I feel that he is disposing me by 
those best of all preparations — suffering and 
affliction. There can be little temptation for me 
to ambition a crown which hitherto has been to 
me but a crown of thorns. 

This, then, will be to you a monition to acquit 
your conscience towards my child, as to what 
shall belong to him after your death. In the 
mean time, do not countenance the continual 
practices and secret conspiracies which om* ene- 
mies in this realm are daily devising for the ad- 
vancement of their pretensions. 

And now, madam, with all that freedom of 
speech which I foresee may in some sort offend 
you, though it be nought but the truth, you will, 
I doubt not, find it more strange that I now come 
to you with a request of far greater importance, 
and yet very easy for you to grant me. It is 
that, not having been able hitherto, by accommo- 
dating myself patiently for so long a time to the 
rigorous treatment of this captivity, and my 
carrying myself in all respects, even the least 
that regard you, to obtain any assurance of your 
good favor, or give you thereby some earnest of 
my entire affection towards you ; and every hope 



APPENDIX. 355 

being taken away of better treatment for the 
short time that is still left me to live, I suppli- 
cate you, by the bitter passion of our Saviour 
and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to allow me to 
withdraw out of this realm into some place of 
repose ; to seek out some comfort for my poor 
body, worn out as it is by continual sorrow, and 
with liberty of conscience to prepare my soul for 
God, who is daily calling me to himself. 

Believe me, madam, or rather believe the 
physicians whom you sent me this last summer, 
as they have witnessed that I am not long for 
this world, so as to give you any foundation for 
jealousy or distrust of me. And yet you are 
free to receive from me such assurances, as well 
as just and reasonable conditions, as you may 
think necessary. In your hands is the power, 
and, as the strongest, you may still doom me to 
a confinement which I little wish to escape. As 
you have had sufficient experience of my obser- 
vance of my simple promises, nay, sometimes to 
my prejudice, as I showed you upon this point 
two years ago. Recollect, if you please, what I 
then wrote to you, that nothing can bind my 
heart to you so strongly as kindness ; and yet 
you continue to keep my poor body languishing 
between four walls, and that without the pros- 



356 APPENDIX. 

pect of relief ; ignorant, it should seem, of the 
fact that persons of my rank and disposition are 
incapable of being gained over or forced into 
compliance by any rigor. This imprisonment 
of yours, founded on no right or justice, has 
already destroyed my body, whose end you will 
shortly see, and which will prevent my enemies 
from much longer glutting their cruelty upon 
me ; as for my soul, that is my own, free and 
untrammelled ; all your power cannot make that 
captive. Allow it, then, some breathing place, 
for aspiring a little more freely after its salvation, 
which is all it now seeks, indifferent to all the 
pomps and vanities of the world. It cannot, 
methinks, be any great satisfaction, honor, or 
advantage to you, to see my enemies trample 
me under their feet, and humble me in the dust 
under your very eyes ; whereas, if in this extrem- 
ity, however late it may be, you release me from 
then' grasp, you would bind me and all who 
belong to me in the strong bonds of affection, 
and more particularly my poor child, whom by 
such a measure you may, perchance, assure to 
yourself forever. I shall not cease to importune 
you with this request tiU it be granted me; and 
on this I pray you to let me know your inten- 
tion, having now waited your pleasure for more 



APPENDIX. 



357 



than two years, to renew my entreaties for it, 
which I am compelled to do by the state of my 
health, which is worse than you, perhaps, have 
been led to imagine. In the mean time, provide, 
if you please, for the bettering of my treatment, 
that I may no longer suffer as I have done. Re- 
mit me not to the discretion of any other what- 
ever, but do you yourself, to whom alone (as I 
wrote to you lately) I wish henceforward to 
stand indebted for all the good or all the evil 
that I am to receive in your country. Do me 
this favor, to let me have your determination in 
writing, or the French ambassador for me. As 
to abiding by what the Earl of Shrewsbury or 
others may say or write to you, I have had too 
much experience to place any reliance on them ; 
their slightest notion or fancy being sufficient to 
change to-morrow what may be done to-day. 

Besides this, in reply to what I lately wrote to 
those of your council, you have given me to 
understand that I should not address myself to 
them, but to you alone. It is surely not reason- 
able that these men should ill-treat me merely 
and solely to extend their credit and authority, 
as they have lately done by these new restric- 
tions, and whereby, contrary, I doubt not, to 
your intentions, I have been most unworthily 



858 APPENDIX. 

treated. This gives me occasion to suspect that 
some of my enemies in your council have ex- 
pressly contrived that the rest should remain 
ignorant of my just complaints, fearing, perhaps, 
that their compeers would not lend themselves 
to the wicked attempt against my life, or that, 
if they had knowledge of the same, they would 
oppose it for your honor, and through a sense of 
duty towards you. In a word, two things I 
have formally to requke : the one, that, approach- 
ing as I am the term of my mortal career, I may 
have near me for my consolation some honora- 
ble churchman, to remind me daily of the course 
I have to finish, that I may order my life accord- 
ing to my faith, in which I am firmly resolved 
to live and die. This is a last duty, not denied 
to the lowest and most wretched of mortals. 
The liberty of freely exercising their religion is 
what you grant to all foreign ambassadors, as 
Catholic kings do in return to yours. As for 
myself, I never forced my own subjects to any 
thing contrary to their religion, though I had full 
power and authority over them ; and that I, in 
this my extremity, should be deprived of such 
freedom is a thing that you cannot in justice 
require. And what advantage will redound to 
you if you refuse me this request ? I trust that 



APPENDIX. 



359 



God will excuse me, if, being in this manner 
oppressed by you, I cease not to render him such 
dutiful homage as in my heart I am permitted 
to do. Besides this, you are setting a very bad 
example to the other princes of Christendom, 
teaching them to employ the same rigor towards 
their subjects that you show towards a sovereign 
queen and your nearest relative, and which I am 
and shall never cease to be, in despite of my 
enemies. 

I have no. wish now to importune you on the 
augmentation of my establishment, with which, 
for the short time of life that remains to me, I 
can well dispense. All that I ask of you, then, 
is two waiting women, to attend me during my 
sickness, declaring before God that they are very 
necessary for me, and that it is no more than 
might be asked by a poor creature among the 
common people. In the name of God, grant 
me this request, and thereby show that my ene- 
mies have not so much credit w^th you against 
me as to exercise their vengeance and cruelty in 
a point of so little moment, and connected with 
a simple office of humanity. 

Resume, madam, the ancient pledges of your 
good nature ; be again in heart and disposition 
what you were before ; bind your relations to 



360 APPENDIX. 

yourself, and grant me the satisfaction, ere I die, 
to see every thing amicably adjusted between us, 
so that my soul, when delivered from this body, 
may not be compelled to pour forthwith lamen- 
tations before God for the \\Tongs you will have 
suffered to be done me here below; but rather, 
that, being in unison and peace with you, it may 
quit this captivity, to set forwards towards Him 
whom I pray to inspii-e you with a sense of my 
just and reasonable complaints. 

Your very disconsolate nearest relation and 
affectionate cousin, Marie R. 

At Sheffield, this 28th of November, (1682.) 



No. 6. 
Marp to Elizabeth* 

April 30, 1584. 

* * * The countess told me, as nearly as I 
can recollect, in the following words : That you 
were as vain, and had as lofty an opinion of 
your beauty, as if you had been some heaven- 

* This celebrated letter was written by Mary to Elizabeth, in com- 
pliance with a request from the latter to give a faithful statement of 
whatever Lady Shrewsbury had said in her hearing to the prejudice 
of her character. That part of it is given in which Lady S, is sup- 
posed to describe Elizabeth's excessive vanity. 



APPENDIX. 361 

born goddess. That you took so much delight 
in unmeasured flattery, as to be led to avow that 
there were people who durst not look you 
straight in the face, as it shone like the sun. 
That she and the other ladies of the court found 
it necessary to administer flattery to you in the 
most extravagant doses. That at the last visit 
which she and the late Countess of Lennox paid 
you, in repeating the dose they durst not look at 
one another, lest they should burst with laughter 
at the falsehoods they told you ; and on her 
return she begged of me to scold her daughter, 
to keep her from again committing herself; that 
as to her daughter Talbot, she durst not go to 
you with her, as she could never keep from 
laughing outright in your face. The same Lady 
Talbot, when she went to give her attendance 
upon you, and took the oath as one of your 
maids of honor, returned here again as soon as 
she could, begging that I would allow her to 
transfer her services to myself. At first I refused, 
but at last, moved by her tears, I consented. 
She then told me that for no consideration in 
the world would she remain in your service, or 
be about your person, as she was afraid that, 
when you were angry, you would treat her as 
you had done her cousin Skedmar, whose finger 
31 



362 APPENDIX. 

you broke, and then made the court believe that 
a candlestick had fallen down upon it ; and that 
to another servant you had given a furious stroke 
of a knife upon the hand. In a word, as to these 
last points, and stories of the same kind, that 
you were made a fool of, and mimicked by them, 
as in a comedy. They said that my women, 
upon hearing these farces, would enact them 
over together ; upon perceiving which, I swear to 
you that I forbade my women from joining any 
more with them. 



No. 7. 

Mary to Elizabeth. 

Madam : Upon occasion of a very unfortu- 
nate and lamentable occurrence, which took 
place the day before yesterday in this house, 
within ten paces of my chamber, and almost in 
full view of my windows, namely, the violent 
death of a poor young man, a Catholic, as it is 
said, imprisoned here so near me these three 
weeks, and solely on account of his religion, as 
the violence publicly exercised against him de- 
monstrates, it is necessary for me to represent 
to you how much I consider this event as import- 



APPENDIX. 363 

ing me to take heed to my safety, with respect 
to any person who may be appointed to be my 
guard here. Madam, whether this man were 
reduced to the extremity of making away with 
himself, as some say, whether his days were 
shortened by violence, or whether he was the 
victim of bad treatment, I have seen him at 
different times dragged by force across the court 
of this castle, to go against his conscience to the 
place of their worship — a thing which might have 
been done elsewhere, at least, than in my pres- 
ence, and in this house, which you have not, I 
suppose, destined to be a common jail, if there 
be any respect for me who profess the same 
religion. If such violence has been used against 
a poor simple man purely on the score of his 
religion, without allegation, as far as I can learn, 
of any crime, his life or death being a thing of 
no profit or interest to any one whatever, I leave 
you to judge, then, what I may expect from such 
zealots of puritanism — I, in whose death they 
have placed the whole gain of their cause, and 
the surest road to come at the usurpation of my 
crown. But I pray you not to think that I 
attribute this to Sir Ealph Sadler, as, in my 
conscience, I judge him to be an honorable gen- 
tleman, and so upright before God and you, that 



364 APPENDIX. 

I am not afraid of his knowingly committing 
any wicked action. 

For these pmitans to say they have no eye to 
futm*e hopes, is a mere fable, under which they 
conceal the corruptness — the purity, as they call 
it — of their intentions; which is, to make the 
monarchy elective for the time to come, by means 
of the present destruction of your blood, and 
of the legal succession in me. I verily think I 
should not have been this day alive, had you 
been inclined to believe one of them, one, too, 
who holds a high office near you, [Bm-ghley,] 
whom the Countess of Shrewsbury once told me 
you had reproached, because, if you had followed 
his counsel, you would have stained your hands 
with my blood. Calling to mind, therefore, the 
practices tending to the same effect, as revealed 
to me by that countess, and those which were 
set on foot against me in this last Parliament, 
thwarted by none but yourself, and also the secret 
conspiracy of the Association, made to effect a 
general massacre both of me and of those of my 
religion, which is the principal object of this 
faction, — without giving themselves any trouble 
about the inconveniences and dangers into which 
they might precipitate you, — I supplicate you 
most earnestly, madam, to grant me, on any 



APPENDIX. 865 

condition whatever without prejudice to my 
conscience, a deliverance out of this long and 
miserable captivity. In place of being sincerely 
and faithfully dealt with here, endeavoring as I 
have done to accommodate myself to your in- 
tentions, all I hear of are new retrenchments, 
orders, and restrictions. These things would 
annoy me the more, were it not for the entire 
confidence I have placed in your natural good 
disposition, your promises, and the hope that I 
have of seeing them carried into effect. 

I should, therefore, be glad to know whether 
this rude treatment and these restrictions proceed 
from your command. I defy my enemies to 
allege any thing on my part to deserve them. 
But I see but too clearly, that so long as I remain 
in this country, however strict a guard you may 
set upon me, whatever sincerity I may practise 
with you, however I make it a duty to let you 
see clearly into all my actions and behavior to- 
wards you, — in short, if, as the saying is, I were 
to divide myself into four quarters to please you, 
— my enemies would never permit you to be in 
peace with me, nor to receive peace from you. 
To me will they impute whatever is to your dis- 
content, not only here, but in all Christendom ; 
and when a pretext fails them, they will not fail 
31* 



366 APPENDIX. 

to invent one, to keep you in perpetual disgust 
of me, and myself in continual turmoil and ap- 
prehension. For instance, they say that Parry 
disguised his wicked design as being done in my 
cause. How can I better acquit myself of this, 
and of all such practices, than by publicly declar- 
ing that all such persons are my mortal enemies ? 
If the advantageous offers I have made you for 
my deliverance were, as you were pleased to 
acknowledge, such that nothing more could be 
desired, do me the honor to let me know what 
more you desire now, be it even the deprivation 
of all right to the succession to the crown, if you 
think that this may be conducive to your safety. 
For God's sake take care, that, step by step, 
you do not permit this puritan faction to grow 
to such a head in number, force, and usurpation, 
that, if you do not provide in time, you may find 
it no longer in your power to secure to me either 
my right or my life. Without doubt, they will 
at last give you the law themselves. Recollect 
that in the book formerly read to me by the 
Countess of Shrewsbmy, they boldly affirm that 
it is not in your power to name any Catholic 
your heir. It will be for them, then, to elect an 
heir by force, in any manner they presume ; and 
what is this but to compel me, at last, in spite 



APPENDIX. 367 

of myself, to submit to their mercy both my life 
and my right after you in the succession to the 
crown ? I have informed you that I was content 
to yield to you ; but, happen what may, I never 
will do the same to any subject of yours. There- 
fore, madam, take heed, if you please, to whom 
you commit me, while I await your resolution as 
to my deliverance. Your own safety is at stake. 
When they have me in their hands, and at their 
disposal, one great obstacle is removed out of 
the way. 

I have no doubt your intention towards me 
is sincere ; I have no distrust of your word. But 
when, contrary to your intention, and without 
your knowledge, my life shall be taken from me, 
who will be able to repair the loss ? To go far- 
ther : who is there among them that would think 
he had done any thing unjust or unworthy of 
himself, as you stated in your last, in executing 
what he has promised and sworn in the Associa- 
tion, namely, to ruin by all means all those in 
whose favor any thing should be attempted 
against your person ? The examination of Parry, 
who, it is said, was once their spy, will be of 
service to them in this respect. Consider to 
what issue these things indirectly tend ; it is a 
secret^ oligarchical plot, masked under the spe- 



368 APPENDIX. 

cious title of an Association for your preserva- 
tion. I never approved of this plot ; on the 
contrary, I always cried out against it, being 
bound, as I repeat it, to study your preservation, 
which is no less dear to me than to any subject 
you have. 

And here, permit me to say freely to you, and 
that in declaration of the perfect interest I take 
in your safety, that it is very dangerous for you 
to suffer your subjects to be so persecuted and 
harassed against their conscience, solely on the 
score of religion. The despair that may thence 
arise in the breasts of many, in perceiving before 
your eyes iiTetrievable ruin, may produce fatal 
and incalculable effects, as in the case of the 
poor man here, if it be true that he made away 
with himself. My secretary has told me, that he 
has heard from your own mouth, that it never 
was your intention that any of your subjects 
should suffer solely for religion and conscience' 
sake. So long as this was observed in the first 
years of your reign, you had great tranquillity, 
no person being charged with crimes against you. 
For God's sake, madam, keep that holy resolu- 
tion, worthy of you, and of all those of your rank. 
The example of our age throughout all Christen- 
dom has given you sufficient proofs how little 



APPENDIX. 369 

human force can do in the matter of religion, 
whose spirit is from above. For my part, should 
it come to pass that an open attack were made 
upon my religion, I am, by the grace of God, 
perfectly ready to lay down my neck under the 
axe, and shed my blood Defore all Christendom ; 
and I should esteem it a great happiness to be 
among the foremost. I do not say this through 
vain-glory, as if I were at any great distance 
from danger. 

Once more, then, madam, I beseech you to 
put an end to my sufferings, and to deliver me, 
in the manner it shall please you, from this mis- 
erable prison ; which I may now, more justly 
than ever, call a prison, and worse, seeing such 
deeds committed here. Let me languish here no 
longer merely to prolong the persecution against 
me, solely for having the honor to be one of 
your nearest relatives by blood. It would be a 
very great cruelty to make me undergo so many 
evils because I have preserved that honor un- 
blemished from my birth. I wait your answer 
and final resolution, nothing now remaining but 
my life to offer you, after all other conditions 
proposed to obtain my deliverance. Humbly 
kissing your hands, I pray God that he may 



370 



APPENDIX. 



have you, madam, my good sister, in his holy 
keeping. 

Your very humble and very affectionate 
Sister and cousin, 

Marie R. 
FromTxjTSVRY, {April Uh, 1585.) 



No. 8. 
Mary to Mauvissiere. 

May 23, 1585. 

Believe me, M. Mauvissiere, my enemies 
endeavor in every possible manner to derive 
advantage from the divisions which they sow 
every where, in the samef manner as I remember 
they formerly spread a report that the queen 
mother (Catharine de Medicis) hated me ex- 
tremely, on account of my bad conduct and 
disobedience to her while I was in France ; and 
yet she lately gave very good testimony in my 
favor at audiences which Lord Glasgow and 
Lord Seton had with her. And I truly believe 
that none of her own daughters ever showed 
her more honor, deference, and obedience in all 
things. Do me the favor to thank her, on my 
part, for the assurances which she gave those 



APPENDIX. 



371 



ambassadors of her entire attachment to me and 
my son, and that I will, as long as I live, do 
my utmost to deserve it. Entreat her most ear- 
nestly to take care of my poor child, and of my 
wretched state. 

As to my liberty, I wish to enjoy it out of 
England ; or, if I consented to remain here, that 
it should be more ample and favorable than was 
proposed last year, when, in order to deliver my 
son from the hands of the rebels, I was obliged 
to offer my person as security. With respect to 
your journey to Scotland, I have, according to 
your advice, appeared rather to doubt of it than 
to desire it, in order that they may more readily 
agree to it ; but then I have urged that you might 
be permitted to visit me by the way, as this is 
one of the principal parts of your commission ; 
and by this means could you not bring Archibald 
Douglas with you ? You will make arrange- 
ments with him respecting all that he has written 
to me, and what you have written in his favor. 
Meantime, do you and he be on your guard 
against Walsingham ; for, notwithstanding all 
the fine speeches which he makes to you, I know 
that he will not spare me, nor any of my friends, 
if he can find any thing against me. On the 
condition that my son is safe, I will willingly 



372 APPENDIX. 

suffer the worst that they can do to me here, 
both in changing my keeper and restricting my 
liberty. My resolution, therefore, is to labor by 
all means for the liberty and safety of myself and 
son, and to bring about a good understanding 
with the Queen of England. "With a view to 
this object, we must direct all our plans and 
actions to the satisfaction of Elizabeth, in order 
that we may obtain, under her protection, the 
confirmation of our right of succession to the 
crown. However, till I see the treaty before me, 
I will not suffer myself to be deceived by idle 
hopes, or exalt those rebels over the head of my 
son, and throw him by then- means at the feet of 
the queen. In a word, I will have something 
in my left hand before I throw away what I have 
in the right. And now, as the lord treasurer 
has received from me an answer such as he 
desires, (that is to say, resolute, sincere, and un- 
equivocal,) it is now his business, and that of the 
other counsellors, to show the sincerity of them- 
selves and of their queen towards me, who re- 
main in their hands as pledge and security for my 
offers and promises, for which I can receive no 
equivalent from them ; and yet I want something 
more than fair speeches. Nau shall be ready to 
accompany you to Scotland. * * * 



APPENDIX. 373 

No. 9. 
Mary to Mauvissiere. 

July lOth, 1585. 

Sir : I am happy to inform you that my health 
is pretty good, notwithstanding the arbitrary 
manner and increase of rigor with which I am 
treated by this warden of mine. I find myself 
in very great perplexity in regard to my abode 
in this house, if it be intended that I should 
pass the next winter. The timber work of the 
house, as I before told you, is in a wretched con- 
dition. The wind enters my chamber on all 
sides, so that I do not know how it will be in 
my power to preserve the little health I have 
regained during the rigors of the coming season. 
My physician, who is in a good deal of concern 
on this point, expressly says, that he will give 
up all hope of curing me if I am not provided 
with a better lodging. While he watched me, 
during my last indisposition, he found my cham- 
ber exceedingly cold during the night time, not- 
withstanding the stoves and continual fire there, 
and the warmth of the season of the year. If 
such be the case now, I leave you to judge how 
it will be in the middle of winter; this house 
32 



874 APPENDIX. 

being situated upon a hill in the middle of a 
plain about two miles in circumference, exposed 
to all the winds and inclemency of the season. 
There are a hundred peasants in the very village 
at the foot of the castle better lodged than I 
am ; my whole accommodation consisting of two 
small, wretched rooms, and some closets not fit 
for any thing (if I must say it) but water closets. 
I have no place for recreation, no covered walk 
to take the air in the daytime ; in a word, of all 
the lodgings I have had in England, this is the 
most unhealthy and inconvenient. I am willing 
to believe that the queen, my good sister, will 
not think me troublesome in making these re- 
monstrances, to which pure necessity compels 
me. For six months past, no care has been 
taken to remedy these inconveniences, and yet I 
have remained silent and patient ; in testimony 
of which I refer to my warden. I thank you 
affectionately for the duty you have shown in 
consoling me upon the delay of the treaty for 
my liberty. I doubt not you have informed me 
of the true reasons alleged for it ; they are the 
very counterpart of the excuses in times past — at 
one time a revolution in Scotland, at another 
some new trouble in France, and then again the 
discovery of some conspiracy at home ; in a 



APPENDIX. o75 

word, the smallest incident that can come to pass 
in Christendom is converted into cause sufficient. 
The whole thing amounts to this, — as the chil- 
dren say, — they will be content when every body 
else is agreed. 



No. 10. 
Mary to Mauvissiere. 

September 23, 1585. 

• 

Foreseeing that it will be too late before I 
receive your answer to my last communication, 
I will, without waiting for it, lay my just com- 
plaint before you, that Sir Amias Paulet, in 
reply to my memorial respecting my lodging, 
attendants, &cc., has delivered to me an answer 
which is, in fact, a plain refusal. Although these 
things appear to my good sister the Queen of 
England but trifling, and of no moment, they 
are, nevertheless, of great importance as regards 
the preservation of my life and health, and of all 
whom I have left to console me within the walls of 
my prison. I see, however, daily, that they desire 
to reduce me to the utmost extremity ; for if my 
necessities were not so urgent, I would not trou- 
ble her with so many petitions, remonstrances, 
and entreaties, which to me appears paying a 



376 APPENDIX. 

very high price for them. It is also most pain 
ful to me, that, in return for the duty which I 
have voluntarily imposed upon myself to submit 
to the queen's pleasure in all things, so little re- 
gard is paid to her honor and my comfort by my 
present mode of treatment. 

In order that you may be fully acquainted 
with all the particulars, in order to represent 
them in my name to the queen, who, I believe, 
has never been properly informed of them, I shall 
observe, first, in regard to my lodging, that my 
residence is a place enclosed with walls, situated 
on an eminence, and consequently exposed to 
all the winds and storms of heaven. Within 
this enclosure there is, like as at Vincennes, a 
very old hunting seat, built of wood and plaster, 
with chinks on all sides, with the uprights, the 
chinks between which are not properly filled up, 
and the plaster dilapidated in numberless places. 
The house is about six yards distant from the 
walls, and so low that the terrace on the other 
side is as high as the house itself, so that neither 
the sun nor the fresh air can penetrate it on that 
side. The damp, however, is so great there, that 
every article of furniture is covered with mouldi- 
ness in the space of four days. You may judge 
for yourself how this must affect my health. In 



APPENDIX. 377 

a word, the rooms for the most part are fit rather 
for a dungeon for the lowest and most abject 
criminal, than for a residence of a person of my 
rank, or even of a much inferior one. No gen- 
tleman in this country, yea, no inferior, I am 
convinced, would wish to accommodate me worse 
than themselves ; he would consider it as a pun- 
ishment and tyranny if he were shut up a twelve- 
month in such a habitation, so confined and un- 
comfortable as that in which I am constrained 
to dwell. I have for my own accommodation 
only wretched little rooms, and so cold, that 
were it not for the protection of the curtains and 
tapestries which I have had put up, I could not 
endure it by day, and still less at night. In fact, 
there is scarcely one of those who have nursed 
me during my illness, who has escaped without 
some sickness, fluxion, or cold. Sir Amias Pau- 
let will bear witness, that during this time three 
of my women were laid up at once. Nay, my 
physician himself, who has also come in for a 
share, has several times declared, that if I re- 
mained in this house he could not undertake the 
charge of ray health during the ensuing winter. 
For even if they were to furbish it up, or repair 
and enlarge it, I should never be able to live 
32* 



378 APPENDIX. 

here, as there is nothing on earth that I can stand 
less than the least damp air. 

With respect to the house which it is proposed 
I should inhabit during the said alterations, it 
adjoins that which I have described, and even, 
according to Sir Amias Paulet's statement, will 
not accommodate my people. I have, however, 
several reasons to fear inhabiting such a lone 
dwelling, but will say nothing respecting it here. 

In regard to other conveniences, I much want 
an additional room, into which I can sometimes 
rethe, as I have no place where I can be alone, 
except two little dark holes which are towards 
the wall, and the largest is scarcely three yards 
square. If I desire to go out either on foot or 
in my chau' to get a little fresh air, there being 
no open space on the top of the hill, I have 
scarcely a quarter of an acre left me, in the 
neighborhood of the stables, which Mr. Somer 
has had ploughed during the last winter, and 
encompassed with a wooden fence, and which 
deserves the name of pigsty rather than of a 
garden. There is scarcely a sheepfold in any 
field which is not more agreeable. 

With regard to horse exercise, the roads are 
so bad, as I experienced last winter, from the 
effects of snow and rain, that one cannot go even 



APPENDIX. 



379 



a mile in a carriage, and I am at last obliged to 
have recourse to my feet. 

I must also acquaint you (though I am 
ashamed to do so) that this house is so filled 
with the lowest people, that, notwithstanding 
every effort, it is impossible long to maintain 
order; and as there are no sewers, I am ex- 
posed to a constant stench, and when they are 
emptied every Saturday, " Je ne recoy -pas les plus 
plaisantes cassolettes^^ 

I must add one thing in conclusion, and to 
which respect is paid even to persons in an infe- 
rior station, especially during illness : this place 
was my first prison in this realm, and I suffered 
here so much rigor, insult, and indignity, that I 
have ever since looked on it as wretched and 
unfortunate, and wrote to the Queen of England 
before I came here. In this gloomy notion I 
have been confirmed by the circumstance that 
the priest, after he had been cruelly tortured, was 
hanged on the wall opposite my windows, as I 
have already written to M. Mauvissiere ; and 
about four or five days ago, another poor man 
was found drowned in the well, though I will not 
compare this with the other. 

I have lost my good Rally — she was my best 
comfort in my misfortune; another of my un- 



380 APPENDIX. 

happy people has died since, and several stiL 
suffer much from sickness. 

Being destitute of all conveniences and com- 
forts here, nothing but Elizabeth's promise that 
I should be well treated has hitherto sustained 
my patience ; otherwise, I should never have set 
my foot into it, unless I had been dragged hither 
by force, as force alone shall induce me to remain 
here. Should I die, I ascribe my death to this 
residence, and to those who keep me here, in 
order, as it seems, to make me doubt the good 
will of the queen, my sister ; for what may I 
expect in important matters, if I am treated so 
in trifling and unimportant ones, and faith is not 
kept with me even in them ? 



No. 11. 
Mary to the Duke of Guise. 

October 5, 1586. 

My good Cousin : If God, and you after him, 
do not find means to succor your poor cousin 
now, all is over. This bearer will tell you how I 
am treated by all, even by my two secretaries. 
For God's sake assist them, and save them if 
you can. They are to accuse me of a design to 



APPENDIX. 381 

trouble the state, and of having laid plots against 
the queen, or, at least, of having consented to 
them. I have declared what is true, that I know- 
not what the matter in hand is. They say they 
have seized certain letters of mine to one Bab- 
ington, and to Charles Paget and his brother, 
which prove this conspiracy ; and that Nau and 
Curie have acknowledged to it. I declare they 
can do no such thing ; except they force them 
by the torture to declare more than they know. 
This is all they have told me about the matter. 
But I know by means of letters, that they 
threaten you much, you and your league, and 
are strengthening their party by means of certain 
princes, who will tolerate their religion. I have 
declared to them, that, as to myself, I am resolved 
to die in mine, as she [Elizabeth] protested she 
would do for the Protestant. Whatever, there- 
fore, you may hear, my good cousin, by these 
disseminators of false reports, assure yourself, 
that, by the grace of God, I will die in the Cath- 
olic faith, and in firmly maintaining its cause. 
The House of Lorraine know what it is to pour 
forth their blood for the faith, and I will not dis- 
honor that house. Cause prayers to be offered 
for me to Almighty God ; have my poor remains, 



382 APPENDIX. 

when brought from hence, interred in holy ground, 
and have compassion on my poor, destitute ser- 
vants ; for they have robbed me of every thing 
here, and I lay my account to be despatched 
with poison, or some other such secret death. 
But although I am become nearly maimed by 
their bad treatment, my right hand, since this 
late event, having so swollen and become so 
painful, that I can scarcely hold the pen or assist 
myself to my food, yet my courage shall not 
fail me ; in the hope that He who has made me 
what I am will give me grace to die in his cause. 
This is the only honor I desire in this world, in 
order to obtain the mercy of God in another. 
It is my desire that my body may be buried at 
Rheims, by the side of my late good mother, 
and my heart beside the late king, my lord. 
Further particulars you may hear from the bearer 
of this. Should it appear that, at the present 
time, there is any wish to see me restored, and 
to avenge my cause, — which indeed is the com- 
mon cause, — I should think it very wonderful ; 
for to me every thing on this point seems doubt- 
ful and wavering. Adieu, my good cousin ; com- 
municate the contents of this to my ambassador. 
If my son does not concur now in avenging 



APPENDIX. 



383 



his mother, then I give him wholly up ; and I beg 
that you and all my relations will do the same. 
Your good cousin, 

Marie R. 

From FOTHERINGAY. 



No. 12. 
Mary to Pope Sixtus V. 

November 23, 1586. 

Most Holy Father : I humbly approach your 
holiness, to ask your benediction, and to beg 
leave to state what has befallen me. The very 
day on which the present, I have been ordered 
by persons sent from the Queen of England to 
prepare for death. If I am allowed to see my 
almoner, or any Cathohc priest, it is my intention 
to comply with the proper forms as established 
in the holy church. I have, however, reason to 
fear that this will be refused me ; therefore, lowly 
at your feet, most holy father, do I confess my- 
self a sinner in the sight of God, and through 
your prayers implore his mercy and compassion 
upon my soul ; between which and the justice 
of God I interpose the blood of Jesus Christ, 
crucified for me and for all sinners, of whom I 
confess myself to be the most unworthy, consid- 



384 APPENDIX. 

ering the graces I have received, and which I 
have so ill employed and so ineffectually corre- 
sponded to. This would render me unworthy 
of pardon, were not his saving grace promised 
to all who feel the weight of sin, and groan in 
anguish of spirit ; and did not his mercy encour- 
age us to approach him, in that tender invitation, 
" Come to me, all you that labor and are heavily 
laden, and you shall find rest to your souls." 
Then, like another prodigal son, do I hasten to 
be received into his paternal embrace, to be par- 
doned for the offences of the past, and to be freed 
from the bm*den of sin. " And here also do I ful- 
fil what I most earnestly desire ; and that is, to 
offer willingly at the foot of the cross my life 
and my blood for the maintenance of the Catho- 
lic church of God, and in proof of the sincere 
love which I bear the same, and without the res- 
toration of which I should no longer desire to 
live.* 

* " She proceeds," says Dr. Lingard, " to recommend to the 
pontiff the conversion of her son to the Catholic faith, for which 
purpose she \\ishes him to employ the cooperation of the King of 
Spain, the only prince ivho has really aided her during her captivity. 
If James should continue obstinate, she leaves all her right in the 
crown of England to the disposal of the pope and of that monarch. 
Should he repent, she requires of him to look on Philip and the 
princes of the house of Guise as his nearest relatives, and hopes, as 



APPENDIX. 385 

No. 13. 
Mary to Le Preau, her Almoner. 

February 7, 1587. 
They have been battling with me to-day on 
my religion, persisting on my receiving consola- 
tion from their heretical teachers. You wiU 
learn from Bourgoin and the others that, at 
least, I have faithfully made protestation of my 
faith, in which I wish to die. I requested to 
have you with me, to make my confession and 
receive my sacrament, which was cruelly refused 
me, as well as my request to have my body 
transported into France, and free power to make 
my will, or to write any thing but by their hands, 
and under the good pleasure of their mistress. 

the last blessing she can wish for on earth, that he may marry the 
infanta of Spain." I have called the reader's attention to this letter 
for the following reason : For many years after the death of Mary, 
it was believed that, on the eve of her execution, she made a will, by 
which she left the kingdom of England to Philip of Spain, in case 
her son did not become a Catholic ; and that Cardinal Laurea and 
Lewis Owen, Bishop of Cassano, had attested that it was in the 
handwriting of the queen. This vnll, however, could never be dis- 
covered. In my opinion there can be little doubt that the report 
arose from misconception, and that the real -will was this letter ; and 
what confirms this conjecture is, that at the end of it there is sub- 
joined an attestation of Lewis Owen, Bishop of Cassano, that the 
handwriting is that of Mary, Queen of Scots. 

33 



886 APPENDIX. 

In defect of this, I now confess the grievousness 
of my sins in general, as I had intended to do 
to you in particular ; beseeching you, in the name 
of God, to watch and pray this night with me, 
for the satisfaction of my sins, and to send me 
your absolution and pardon of ail my offences 
towards yourself. I will endeavor to see you in 
their presence, as they have granted me to do in 
regard to my chamberlain ; and if that be per- 
mitted me, I will, upon my knees, in presence 
of all, ask your blessing. Point out to me the 
most proper prayers for this night and for to-mor- 
row morning. The time is short, and I have no 
leisure to write ; but I will recommend you with 
the rest, and, above all, your benefices shall be 
assured to you, and I will recommend you to 
the king. I have time for no more. Advise me, 
in writing, of whatever you shall think condu- 
cive to my salvation. 

I will send you some little parting token of 
my remembrance.* 

* At the foot of the letter is the word Remember, which, by a 
singular coincidence, was the parting word addressed by Mary's 
grandson, Charles I., to his almoner, Bishop Juxton, by whom he 
was attended on the scaffold. 



APPENDIX. 



387 



No. 14 
Mary to the Duke of Guise, 

February 7, 1587. 

My good Cousin : As you are among the 
dearest to me in the world, I write to bid you 
my last adieu. By the unjust judgment of my 
enemies, I am upon the point of suffering death 
as none of our race ever before suffered, and 
least of all one in my station. Yet, my good 
cousin, render thanks to God for the same. Sit- 
uated as I was, I was useless to the world in the 
cause of God and his church. But I hope that 
my death will testify my constancy in the faith, 
and my readiness to die for the maintenance and 
restoration of the Catholic church in this unfor- 
tunate island. Though heretofore executioner 
has never dipped hand in our blood, yet let not 
your cheek redden at the thought, my good 
friend ; for this judgment of heretics and of the 
enemies of the church — men who have no juris- 
diction over me, a free queen — will prove accept- 
able in the sight of God, and profitable to the 
children of his church. Were I one of them, 
one of the children of delusion, I should not 
suffer this blow. All of our house have been 



388 



APPENDIX. 



objects of persecution to this sect, as witness 
your good father, with whom I hope to be 
received into the mercies of the just Judge. I 
recommend to you the care of my poor attend- 
ants, and the discharge of any debts that I may 
leave behind me. I also beg you to cause masses 
to be said for the repose of my soul, and to make 
provision for an annual dirge for the same ob- 
ject ; the means for this purpose, as well as my 
last wishes in this regard, wiU be conveyed to 
you by these my poor helpless attendants, the 
eye witnesses of this my last tragedy. May 
God prosper you, your wife, children, brothers, 
and cousins, and especially our head, my good 
brother and cousin, and all his; the blessing of 
God and that which I should give to my child 
be on you and yours, whom I recommend to 
God, no less than my own unfortunate and ill- 
advised child. You v/ill also receive from my 
people certain tokens from me, in order to remind 
you to cause prayers to be said for the soul of 
your poor cousin, destitute as she is of all aid 
and counsel but that of God, who is graciously 
pleased to give me strength and courage singly 
to resist the wolves that are howling around me ; 
glory be to his name ! Mark one thing ; give 
credence to what will be told you by the person 



APPENDIX. 389 

who gives you a ruby ring from me ; I can 
answer for it on my conscience that you will be 
told the truth of what I have directed, especially 
as to what concerns my poor attendants, and the 
share which is to come to each. I recommend 
to you this person for her simple sincerity and 
honesty, that she may be placed in some good 
situation. I have chosen her as the least partial, 
and who will report my orders most simply and 
sincerely. But do not let it be known that I 
had given her any thing to reveal to you in pri- 
vate ; I should be sorry to raise any jealousy 
among the poor things. I have suffered much 
for these last two years, and more, far more than 
I have let you know, and that for the best of 
reasons. But God be praised for all! It is my 
parting prayer that he would give you his grace 
to persevere in the love and service of his church 
as long as you live ; and never may this glory 
depart from our race, that all, men as well as 
women, may be ready to shed their blood to 
maintain the cause of our faith, all worldly con- 
siderations set aside. As for myself, I hold my- 
self born, both on the paternal and maternal 
side, so to ofter my blood; from this I never 
have had, nor have at this moment, the slightest 
intention to degenerate. May Jesus, who was 
33* 



890 APPENDIX. 

crucified for us, render us worthy of the volun- 
tary offering of our bodies to his glory, and to 
this also may the intercession of all the holy 
saints and martyrs avail. 

From your affectionate cousin and perfect 
friend, Marie E,. 

P. S. In order to degrade me, they had caused 
my canopy of state to be pulled down. I caused 
to be put up in place of my coat of arms the 
figure of the crucifixion of my blessed Saviour, 
and pointed it out to their notice. They were 
more kind after that. But of this and many 
other things you will be duly informed. Once 
more, farewell ! 



No. 15. 
Ma7"y to the King of France* 

Thanks be to God, he has given me courage 
to meet death without fear; and with perfect 
truth I protest that I meet it innocent of crime. 
Even had I been an English subject, I should 
have been justified in my attempts to regain 
that liberty which was withheld from me by 

* This letter, of which the conclusion only is here given, is dated 
"Wednesday, two hours after midnight." 



APPENDIX. 391 

injustice. I die for the Catholic religion, and 
for maintaining the right given me by Heaven to 
inherit the crown of England ; these are the 
true grounds of my condemnation. This bearer 
and his companions will bear witness to you as 
to my deportment in this my last scene. It 
remains that I beg of you, as the Most Christian 
king, my brother-in-law, and w^ho have always 
done me so much honor as to declare that you 
love me, now to give me a proof of it, by recom- 
pensing my afflicted servants, and by causing 
prayers and the holy sacrifice of the altar to be 
offered up for a queen who likewise bore the 
title of Most Christian, and who now dies in the 
profession of the one true Catholic faith. 



TO THE PUBLIC. 



Patrick Donahoe, in presenting to the Clergy, Laity, and Trade 
^ tSie following Catalogue of his Publications, would respectfully an- 
nounce that he has added to and furnished his establishment, situated 
21, 23, and 25 Franklin Street, with all the improved steam, mechanical, 
and other arrangements necessary to the most extensive production 
of Books in all their varied forms ; and has now the honor to say that 
his establishment, devoted exclusively to the production of standard 
Catholic Works, is superseded by none in America. 

A continuance of the patronage so long and so kindly bestowed on 
him by the Rt. Reverend and Reverend Clergy and Laity he would 
solicit to sustain him in the endeavor to reproduce, in a cheap form, 
many of the very valuable works issued from time to time in Europe, 
which, from the high price when imported, or otherwise, are out of the 
reach of the majority of the Catholics of America, and also to enable 
him to extend and bring out, at a small price, the copyright works of 
American writers. 



DONAIIOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 




THE HISTORY OF IRELAND, from its first Settlement to the 
present Time ; including a particular Account of its Literature, Music, Ar- 
chitecture, and Natural Resources ; with upwards of Two Hundred Biograph- 
ical Sketches of its most eminent Men ; interspersed with a great number of 
Irish Melodies, arranged for Musical Instruments, and illustrated by many 
Anecdotes of celebrated Irishmen, and a Series of Architectural descriptions. 
By Thomas MoorzEy. 8vo. 1652 pages. 1 volume, cloth, $3.00. 

Two volumes, cloth, . . . $3,50. I Two volumes, half roan, . . . $5,00. 
" " slieep, . . . 4.00.1 « « half calf or Turkey, 6,00. 

Archbishop Hughes says : — " I have had time only to glance through it ; but 
C am convinced that it is at once a useful and highly desemng production." 



DONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



Robert Emmet, Esq., of New York, says : — "I do not hesitate to say that 
tlie useful informatiou it contains, its correct and patriotic views, and the mode 
adopted for the arrangement of its contents, make it the most interesting his- 
torical compilation I have ever met with." 

The Boston Daily Bee says* — " Mr. Mooney has certainly exhausted his great 
Bubject. Bringing to the Herculean task the most admirably adapted taienta 
and industn,', he adds what is most essential, and without which history is a 
dead and hollow body — a constant and irrepressible entlmsiasm. He is in his 
subject ; and there is, for the time, nothing else in him. Hence the history before 
us bristles with the live man and tlie spirited, pulsating historian. The pages 
of a work from such a person have all the attraction of the novel, and all the 
sustenance and strength of the book of science. * * * Those who wish to 
know what and where Ireland has been in her whole history, need have no 'ear 
but this book will supply their every want." 

THE HISTORY OF THE ATTEMPTS TO ES- 
TABLISH THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION IN IRE- 
LAND, and the successful resistance of the Irish People. By T. D. 
McGee, Esq. 12mo., cloth, 75 cents. 

Opinions of tlie Press. 

This is an admirable work on the most important portion of Ireland's event- 
ful history. Its rich and racy style cannot fail to entertain and delight tlie mere 
reader^ while its faithful portraiture of the licentious atrocities and perfidious 
treachery of the primitive apostles of plunder aud Protestantism in Ireland will 
be found both interesting and instructive to the historiographer and statesman. 
Mr. McGee's account of the monstrous cruelties by which tlie first " Reformers " 
sought to torture and starve the Irish into apostasy is a striking exemplification 
of the free spirit of Protestantism. Well has the Catholic Messenger said that 
" this is tlie best production of its distinguished author," for a work better suited 
to the times it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to produce. — Montreal 
True Witness. 

The preface, which we find quoted in the Pilot, shows so clearly how the 
author appreciates the heroic liglit of his argument, how judiciously he has 
discovered the true sources of authority and information, and how clearly he 
has apprehended the grand parallel lines of the position which such a narrative 
should assume, that we anticipate in this the very finest success of a pen that 
Ireland has excellent right besides to be proud of. — Dublin J\''ation. 

The volume before us appears to be fair in its statements, and evinces that 
conspicuous abihty which characterizes Mr. McGee's writings generally. — Bos- 
ton Post. 

Mr. McGee has turned his fine talents to good account in this interesting epi- 
sode, in which he eloquently depicts the contests between Catholicity and the 
established religion of England in his native country up to«the present time. 
— Boston Transcript. 

In this work it is very conclusively shown that for a period of three hundred 
years the Irish peasantry have remained steadfast to Catholicity against all 
the influences of Protestantism, the crown, the laws, the taxes, the forces, schools, 
estates, churches, &c. The work is a very entertaining and curious one, and 
will find a welcome from every Irishman who believes in the Church of Rome. 
The title of the book indicates its character. The distinguished author has adde-d 
to his reputation by this difficult but successful etfort. — FitzgeraWs City Item. 

THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH REBELLION 

OF 1798, giving an authentic Account of the variotis Battles fought 
between the King's Ai'my, and a genuine History of the Transactions 
preceding that Event ; with a valuable Appendix. By Edward 
Hay, Esq., Member of the Royal Irish Academy. A New Edition ; 
to which have been added Absliacts from Plowden, TeeUng, Gordon, 
aud Madden. 12mo., cloth, 50 cents. 



QONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



THE CATHOLIG HISTORY OF N^RTH AMER- 
ICA. Five Discourses, By Thomas D'Arcy McGee. lb cents. 

THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH SETTLERS 

IN NORTH AMERICA, from the earliest Period to the Census 
of 1850. By T. D. McGee, Esq. This is a valuable text book for 
Irishmen in America. 12mo., cloth, oO cents. 

This is a very able sketch or series of sketches of the leading Irish settlers in 
America, from its discovery by Cohimbus down to the present day. It will, no 
doubt, gratify tlie national pride of Irishmen to see so formidable an array of 
illustrious names, some conspicuous in the battle field, in political and mercan- 
tile life, at the bar, and in other callings. Ireland has certainly contributed 
liberally to the glory of America. Her sons shine on the pages of our history 
like diamonds of the first water. Mr. McGee shows a liberal acquaintance with 
our history, and his volume is eminently readable and instructive. — Fitzgerald's 
City Hem. 

GATEGHISM OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND, 

Ancient and Modern. By Wm. J. O'Neill Daunt, Esq., author of 
" Saints and Sinners." ISmo., cloth, 25 cents. 

ABRIDGMENT OF THE HISTORY OF IRE- 
LAND, from its final Subjugation to the present Time. 32mo., 
cloth, 19 cents. 

HISTORIGAL SKETGHES OF O'GONNELL 

AND HIS FRIENDS, including Rt. Rev. Drs. Doyle and Milner, 
Thomas Moore, John Lawless, Thomas Fm-long, Richard Lalor 
Shiel, Thomas Steele, Coixnsellor Brie, Thomas Addis Emmet, Wil- 
liam Cobbett, Sir Michael O'Loghlen, &c. By T. D. McGee, Esq. 
12mo., cloth, 50 cents. 

LIFE, TRIAL, AND OONVERSATIONS OF ROB- 

ERT EMMET, ESQ. Cloth, 25 cents. 

THE EMIGRANTS GUIDE TO THE UNITED 

STATES. Cloth, 25 cents. 
FREEDOM TO IRELAND. The Art and Science 

of War for the People. The Pike Exercise, Foot Lancers, Light 
Infantry, and Rifle Drill. To which is added a short practical Trea- 
tise on Small Arms and Ammunition, Street and House Fighting, and 
Field Fortification. By Olivek Byune, Military, Mechanical, and 
Civil Engineer. 50 cents. 

MOORE'S 3IEL0DIES. With Airs. 32mo. Cloth, 
25 cents. 

THE GREEN BOOK; or, Gleanings from the Writ- 
ing Desk of a Literary Agitator. By JouN C. O'CallaQHAN 
12mo., cloth, 50 cents 



DOiVAnOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



THE TRIALS OF A MIND IN ITS PROGRESS 

TO CATHOLICISM. In a Letter to his old Friends. By L. Sil- 
liiMAN Ives, LL. D., late Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in North Carolma. 12mo., cloth, 50 cents. 

Opinions of tlie Press. 

The book is everj' way equal to what was expected. It is well written, ar- 
gumentative, and convincing; and no one, we think, seeking truth, can read it- 
following step by step the progress of Dr. Ives's mind, without being convinced 
of tlie important truths he is led to investigate. We are glad to hear it ia 
meeting with an unprecedented sale, as it will be the instrument of much 
good. We earnestly recommend it to our readers and all those inquiring after 
truth. — Pittsburg Catholic. 

This long and eagerly-expected publication has at length reached the West. 
The delay in forwarding it arose, as we learn from a note of the publisher, out 
of the immense and unprecedented demands for it which are reaching liim from 
all parts of the country, and which several printing presses, kept in constant 
play, have as yet been ineffective to supply. The typography of the work ia 
extremely creditable to Mr. Donahoe, the enterprising publisher. On this point 
he has left the reader nothing to desire, either as respects clearness and bril- 
liancy of impression, or the neat, compact, and convenient form in which tho 
book is presented to the public. 

Of the merits of the work itself we presume we need not speak at length, 
after the specimen of its style and manner which we gave last week. Written 
in a tone of rare modesty and translucent candor, it still does not lack that vigor 
and purity of style, deep research, cogent reasoning, and simple, touching elo- 
quence wliich might be expected from the reputation for erudition and mental 
force whicli Dr. Ives always had among his co-religionists up to the period when 
he resolved upon the rending sacrifice of which tiiis volume furnishes the rea- 
sons. Its publication will show the desperate falseness of the allegation by 
which the ex-bishop's friends endeavored to account for his conversion, and 
which it is probable themselves never believed. The Protestant Churchman, 
we observe, in noticing the work, says it " should like to see those bishops, who 
pronounced Dr. Ives mad, undertake to refute this book." 

This book will probably have a larger sale than any controversial work ever 
published in this country. The copies for sale at the office of the Vindicator are 
already nearly all gone ; but a further supply will soon reach us. — Detroit Cath- 
olic Vindicator. 

Protestant Opinions. 

The Newport (R. I.) JVeics thus criticizes the book : — " This will be a work of 
exceeding interest both to Catholics and Protestants, as Dr. Ives gives his rea- 
sons flir leaving the Episcopal Church and entering tlie Catholic Church. In 
whatever light Protestants may regard tliis change in the religious opinions of 
the author, they certainly cannot charge him with any ambitious, dishonest, or 
unholy motive, because, as far as distinctions on earth are concerned, he had 
gained all that man can have in the ministry, as far as preferment is concerned 
in the Episcopal Church. He was one of its bishfps for more than twenty 
years ; and, in entering the Church of Rome, he acfjuires no distinction. He, 
being a married man, cannot ever be a priest in that Church. Under these cir- 
cumstances, we think that all must at least give him credit for honesty and sin- 
cerity in the course wliich he has pursued. The work is carefully and elabo- 
rately written, and indicates throughout the fervency of a Christian spirit. We 
commend it to the perusal of all Christians, tliat they may fully comprehend the 
motives which induced the step which the author has taken, and the reasons 
whicli led him into the Catholic Church." 

This is a plain and lucid statement of the difficulties which beset the mind 
of Bishop Ives during his ministry in the Episcopal Church, and of the satis- 
faction tliat lie has felt since his union with the Church of Rome. He haa 
given the higiiest evidence of the sincerity of his convictions, whatever our 
O])iiiion may he of their soundness. A bisho[), loved, lionored. and respected, 
he has sacrificed position and fortune in the pursuit of wiiat he believed to be 
the truth. Being a person of learning, also, not misled by a partial view of tho 
question, his book commands the calm investigation of every mind soUcitoua 
for the trutlL — Phila. City Item. 



BONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



DISCOURSES ADDRESSED TO MIXED CON- 
GREGATIONS. By John Henry Newman, Priest of the Ora- 
tory of St. Philip Neri. 12mo., cloth, 75 cents. 

WISE3IAN'S SERMONS ON THE DEVOTIONS 

OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST, together with his celebrated Lec- 
ture at Leeds. 32mo., cloth, 19 cents. 

LIVES OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, St. Mary 

of Egypt, St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Ann, St. Patrick, St. Brid- 
get, St. Ligouri, &c. 18mo., cloth, 25 cents. 

REEVES'S CHURCH HISTORY, from its first e&- 

tablishment to the present century. 8vo., sheep, ;^1.00. 

REEVES'S BIBLE HISTORY, designed for Schools 

and general reading. 12mo., sheep, 50 cents. 

CATECHISM OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 

in which is explained the History, Dogmas, Sacraments, Prayers, 
Ceremonies, and Usages of the Chiuxh of Christ. By the Rev. Ste- 
phen Keenan, author of the " Doctrinal Catechism," &c. 12mo., 
cloth, 75 cents. 

REFLECTIONS ON SPIRITUAL SUBJECTS, 

and on the Passion of Christ. One of Ligouri's best works. 18mo., 
cloth, 37i cents. 

MANNINGS SHORTEST WAY TO END DIS- 
PUTES ABOUT RELIGION. One of the best controversial 
works extant. 12mo., cloth, 50 cents. 

SURE WAY TO FIND OUT THE TRUE RELI- 
GION. ISmo., cloth, 19 cents. 

GROUNDS OF THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 

18mo., cloth, 19 cents. 

LETTERS ON THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 

By the late Dr. O'Flaherty. 12mo., cloth, 50 cent's. 

GOBINETS INSTRUCTIONS OF YOUTH IN 

CHRISTIAN PIETY. An indispensable book both for the old 
and young. 12mo,, cloth, 75 cents. 

FAMILIAR INSTRUCTIONS IN THE FAITH 

AND MORALITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 32mo., 

cloth, 19 cents. 

CATECHISM OF THE DIOCESE OF BOSTON. 

The only authorized edition. Per hundred, ^2.00. 

DR. MAGINNS LETTERS TO LORD STANLEY 

ON THE CONFESSIONAL, and O'CONNELL'S LETTERS 
TO THE METHODISTS. Paper, 12^ cents. 

THE MONTH OF MAY. Consecrated to the Mother 

of God. From the Italian of Mons: Alfonso Muzzarelli. By a 
Catholic Clergyman, pp. 190. Cloth, 25 cents. 



DONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



THE CROSS AND THE SHAMROCK; or, How 

to Defend the Faith. An Irish- American Catholic Tale, descriptive 
of the temptations, sufierings, trials, and triumphs of the Children 
of St. Patrick in the Great Republic of Washington. A Book for 
the entertainment and special instruction of the Catholic Male and 
Female Servants of the United States. 12mo., cloth, 50 cents 

Opinions of the Press. 

A simple but touching record of the trials and temptations to which, too often, 
the Irish Catholic is exposed on arriving in the Great American Republic. But 
the faith which has supported him in so many trials at home, which has been a 
lamp unto his feet and as a staff in his hands, fails him not here. The " Cross 
and the Shamrock " triumph over the assault of man and devil, of Protestant 
poormaster and Evangelical philanthrophist — the latter the worst devil of the 
two. Of the former we have a specimen in Van Stingey, — a Yankee Mr. Bum- 
ble, — and quite a gem in his way; but our limited space forbids us to make 
extracts. We have much pleasure in recommending this little work to our 
readers. — Montreal True Witness. 

The author of this excellent tale is evidently an earnest man. Impressed 
with a strong sense of the wrongs which the poor Irish at service too often en- 
dure, he has aimed to depict these in such a manner as may excite the attention 
of careless employers, and point out to the sufferers themselves the rewards of 
patience and perseverance. The characters are very well sketched, though the 
incidents recording them are not very artistically arranged. The book is a prize 
to our Irish Catholic readers, notwithstanding its little defects of form. — Cath- 
olic Telegraph. 

LOSS AND GAIN; or, the Story of a Convert. By 
the Very Reverend John Henry Newman, D. D., Rector of the 
Catholic University of Ireland, &c. 12mo., cloth, 50 cents. 

We were in England when this work first appeared, and well remember the 
sensation it caused. The former friends of Mr. Newman were greatly scandal- 
ized as well as offended by it. It proved, they said, such a deterioration on his 
part. That he should absolutely jest at the ecclesiological and liturgical foppe- 
ries of their party, astounded them. They could never believe Newman Vvould 
sink so low. We knew one young man, who had been a great admirer of Mr. 
Newman, who wrote an answer to the twenty-seven questions which Willia 
sent Reding. He was going to publish the answer in the English Churchman, 
we believe ; but somehow one or two points were not quite clear to him, and 
he reserved the paper till he had examined them a little further j he pursued tina 
examination till he became a Catholic. There never was a livelier or truer pic- 
ture of any state of society than " Loss and Gain " gives of the university class 
in England. Dealing largely in satire, it has the great merit of absolute freedom 
from exaggeration, and is at liie same time one of the wittiest stories, and the 
most devoid of malice that ever was penned. It is addressed to a verj' high order 
of mind — too high for mere popularity; but it will gahi admirers forever, we 
should think ; yes, even when it is itself the only relic (like Fielding's novels in 
profane literature) of the social state it describes. — Metropolitan Catholic Mag- 



DONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



JOHN O'BRIEN; or, the Orphan of Boston. By the Rev. J. T. 
RoDDAN. l2mo., cloth, 50 cents. ' 

WILLY BURKE ; or, the Irish Orphan in America. A beautiful 
Story, by Mrs. Sadlier, illustrating the temptations and trials of Irish youth 
in the United States. 32iuo., cloth, 25 ceiits. 

SHANDY McGUIRE; or, Tricks upon Travellers. Being a Story 
of the North of Ireland. By Paul Peppergbass, Esq. 12mo., cloth, 50 cts 

MARY, THE STAR OF THE SEA; or, a Garland of Hving 
Roses culled from the Divine Scriptures and woven to the honor of the Holy 
Mother of God. 32mo., cloth, 37^ cents. 

THE RED HAND OF ULSTER ; or, the Fortunes of Hugh 
O'NiELL. By Mrs. Saolier. 32nio., cloth, 37^ cents. 

ALICE RIORDAN; or, the Blind Man's Daughter. By Mrs, 
Sadlier. 32mo., cloth, 37.2 cents. 

THE IRISH GIANT. By G. Griffix. 32mo., cloth, 25 cents. 

THE CHAPEL CHOIR BOOK. — The cheapest collection of Cath- 
olic Music in the world. It contains three Masses — Webb's Mass in G; 
Mass in F, by Natividad, and the Missa Regia, — Vespers, Hymns for the va- 
rious Festivals, Elementary Principles, &c., making in all 144 large pages, 
printed on good paper, well bound, and is sold for the extremely low price of 50 
cts., or $4 per doz. Specimen copies sent gratis to persons wishing to purchase. 




JlAfi 1^^^ 



^ 



\J /J^^^nyO. 



MOORE'S IRISH MELODIES, with Symphonies and Accompani- 
ments. By Sir John Steihenson. 4co., cloth, plain edge, $2.50 ; gilt edge, 
$3.U0 : half cloth, §2.00. 



DONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



CATHOLIC BOOKS FOR THE POOR, 

IN A SERIES OF VOLUMES. 




The Yonng Christian's library, 

OR, 

COMPILED FEOM AUTHENTIC SOURCES. 

Price only tliree cents eacli. 

Every Number of this beautiful collection will be complete in itself, 
and will conta-in the Life of a Saint, embelHshed with a splendid en- 
graving. The following volumes are in preparation : — 
Vol. 1. Life of our Blessed Redeemer. 
Vol. 2. Life of tlie Blessed Virgin. 
Vol. 3. Life of St James the Apostle. 
Vol. 4. Life of St. Anne, Mother of 

the Blessed Virgin. 
Vol. 5. Life of St. Bernard. 
Vol. 6. Life of St. Clare. 
Vol. 7. Life of St. Philip Neri. 
Vol. 8. Life of St. Philomena. 
Vol. 9. Life of St. Antony. 
Vol. 10. Life of St. Monica. 
Vol. 11. Life of St. Augustine. 
Vol. 12. Life of SL Elizabeth. 
Vol. 13. Life of St. Columbanus. 



Vol. 14. Life of St. Theresa. 
Vol. 15. Life of St. Laurence O'Toole. 
Vol. 16. Life of St.Catharine of Sienna. 
Vol. 17. Life of Blessed Peter Claver, 

S.J. 
Vol. 18. Life of St. Bridget, Patroness 

of Ireland. 
Vol. 19. Life of St. Patrick, Patron of 

Ireland. 
Vol. 20. Life of St. fllary xMagdalene. 
Vol. 21. Life of St. Vincent de Paul. 
Vol. 22. Life of St. VVinefride. 
Vol. 23. Life of St. Francis Xavier. 
Vol. 24. Life of St. Columbkille, 



Each volume of this series will contain thirty-tvi'o page3> 32mo., 
printed in the best manner, on nne paper. 

1^^ Beads, Scapulas, Gospels, Crosses, Holy Water Fonts, Pictires, 
and every article used by the devout Catholic, constantly on hand 



DONAIIOE'S PUBLICATlONiS. 



DONAHOE'S 

NEW AND IMPROVED EDITIONS OF 

liaukrli Catjinlir l^x^u ISnnks, 

Being the cheapest, most comprehensive, and suitable assortment for 
general use published in the United States. 



The new, superior Prayer Book, recommended to be the most useful 
ever printed, entitled 



St. Joseph's Manual. 



Printed with large type, on fine paper, containing 696 pages, 18mo. 
Beautifully illustrated. 

The meritg of this Book, among the many which have been published as well 
in Europe as America, are its peculiar adaptation to the wants of families, as of 
individuals, for public as well as private devotion ; for those who live remote 
from Churches, and cannot be present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sun- 
days and Ilolydays, as for those who enjoy greater privileges. It may be styled 
a volume of prayer and religious instruction, since it not only contains devotions, 
public and private, adapted to the wants of the many and for all seasons and 
occasions of the ecclesiastical year, but is also explanatory and instructive upon 
many points where information is frequently sought after. The care and attention 
which have been given to the distribution of its varied contents will be equally 
appreciated by those wlio have felt the importance of system and arrangement i« 
this particular. 

Strongly bound in sheep, . 
Roan, 

Roan, gilt, ■. . . . 

Roan, gilt, with clasp, 

Imitation Turkey, full gilt. 

Imitation Turkey, full gilt, clasp, 

Turkey, superior extra, various styles 

Tiu-key, superior extra, clasp, 

Tm-key, illuminated, . 

Turkey, illuminated, clasp, 

Turkey, bevelled, antique, 

Turkey, bevelled, antique, clasp 

Velvet, embossed. 

Velvet, embossed, clasp, . 

Velvet, gilt mountings, 

Velvet, medallion on side, . 

Velvet, mountings with morocco case 



t 50. 


75. 


1 00. 


1 25. 


1 25. 


1 50. 


2 25. 


3 00. 


3 00. 


3 50. 


3 00. 


3 50. 


4 50. 


5 00. 


8 00. 


9 00. 


10 00. 



DOJVAHOE^S PUBLICATIONS. 



Key of Heaven. 



32mo. 



Roan, plain, 








g 50. 


Roan, full gilt, .... 








75. 


Roan, full gilt, clasp, . 








1 00. 


Turkey, extra, various styles, 








1 50. 


Turkey, extra, clasp, . 








2 00. 


Turkey, super extia, bevelled, . 








2 00. 


Turkey, super extra, bevelled, clasp, 








2 50. 


Velvet, embossed. 








3 00. 


Velvet, embossed, clasp, 








3 50. 


Velvet, full mountings, 








5 50. 



Catholic Piety. 

By tlie Rev. W. Gahan, O. S. A. 32mo. 



Roan, plain. 








. S 50. 


Roan, full gilt, .... 








75. 


Roan, full gilt, clasp, . 








1 00 


Turkey, extra, various styles. 








1 50 


Turkey, extra, clasp, . 








2 00. 


Turkey, super extra, bevelled, . 








2 00. 


Turkey, super extra, bevelled, clasp. 








2 50 


Velvet, embossed, 








3 00 


Velvet, embossed, clasp, 








3 50 


Velvet, full mountings, 








5 50. 



Christian's Guide to Heaven. 

Witk the Epistles and Gospels for every day in the year. Ne"W 

Edition. 32mo. 



Cloth, plain. 


, , 


• • 


S 38. 


Cloth, gilt, . 






50. 


Roan, plain. 


, , 


... 


50 


Roan, gilt, . 


, , 


> • • • 


75. 


Roan, gilt, clasp, 


, 


. • 


1 00. 


Turkey, extra. 


. 


. 


2 00. 



Young Catholic's Manual. 



Cloth, plain, .... 


. $ 19 


Cloth, gilt, 


38 


Roan, plain, .... 


38 


Roan, gilt, . . . 


60. 


Turkey, extra 


1 00. 



DONAHOE'S PUBLICATIONS. 



Daily Exercise. 

Cloth, plain, , S> 12^. 

Cloth, gUt, 25. 

In Turkey, gilt edges, 38. 



THE UNRIVALLED DOLLAR EDITION OF THE 

Containing 881 pages, 8vo. ; printed on good paper and strongly 
bound Lq leather, for One Dollar ! Generally acknowledged the 
cheapest Douay Bible in print. 

Same edition, bound in roan, 5 1 50. 

" " roan, gilt, . . . . 2 00. 

«* " Turkey, extra, . . . 3 50. 

ROYAL OCTAVO EDITION OF THE 

33o"ULa.y 3BiTolo- 

Super extra Turkey, bevelled, illustrated, . , . ;^ 7 00. 

Extra Turkey, six plates, 6 00. 

Imitation, full gilt, four plates, 3 50. 

Imitation, gilt edge, two plates, . . . . 3 00. 

Sheep, strong, 1 50. 

8vo. 

Cloth, plain, $ 50. ■ 

Roan, gilt, 1 50. 

Roan, full gilt, 2 00. 

Turkey, extra, 2 50. 

Turkey, super, bevelled, . , . - . . 3 00. 



CATHOLIC SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS BOOK, 

for the United States. 12 cents. Per dozen, gl.OO. 

EPISTLES AND GOSPELS for the Sundays and 

principal Festivals throughout the year. Cloth, 19 cents. 

ROSARY AND SCAPULA. Cloth, 25 cents. 



DONAHOE'S PUJLICATIONS. 



Treasury of Prayer. 

24ino. 56S pages. Illustrated. 

The London Catholic Standard says of this work : " We have been much pleased 
with this excellent Prayer Book, which appears to us one of the most perfect yet 
published, and which reunites many features not found in former publications of 
the kind. The occasional prayers are admirably selected ; for instance, we find 
one * for a merchant or trader,' another ' to obtain the spirit of prayer ' another 
• for grace to conquer our passions,' another to be used ' after a day cf toiL' 
There are also prayers used by various holy persons ; for instance, those of St, 
Bonaventure, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius, &c. ; the prayer 
of Solomon for wisdom, the prayer of Manasses, of Jonas, of Job, &c. There 
are several litanies, hymns, visits, and special devotions. The forms of examina- 
tion of conscience strike us as remarkably practical and wisely composed. There 
are numerous instructions suited to the young and to converts, which make it a 
book suitable for spiritual reading as well as prayer ; and the points of doctrine 
disputed by Protestants, such as the Real Presence, Confession, &c., are headed 
with proofs from Scripture." 

The Dublin Telegraph says : " This is a most elegant, complete, and compen- 
dious companion to the Holy Altar. In addition to the devotions contained in the 
ordinary book of prayer, we have here the Devotions of the Bona Mors, Visits to 
the Blessed Sacrament, Devotions of the Month of Mary, Devotions for the Forty 
Hours' Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, together with the Way of the Cross ; 
and all this in so convenient and agreeable a size and shape as to be easily placed 
in a lady's pocket. The title is well bestowed ; for it is, indeed, a Treasury of 
Prayer, and a complete library of practical piety." 

Roan, plain, 

Roan, full gilt, 

Roan, full gUt, clasp, .... 
Turkey, extra, various styles, 
Turkey, extra, clasp, .... 
Turkey, super extra, bevelled, 
Turkey, super extra, bevelled, clasp, . 
Velvet, embossed, .... 
Velvet, embossed, clasp, 
Velvet, full mountings, 







S 50 






75 






1 00. 






1 50 






2 00. 






2 00, 






2 50. 






3 00. 






3 60. 






6 60. 



Companion of the Sanctuary. 



Roan, plain, 


s m 


Roan, full gUt, 


60. 


Roan, full gilt, clasp, 


76. 


Turkey, extra, ....... 


1 25. 


Turkey, extra, clasp, 


1 75 


Velvet clasp, 


2 60 


Velvet, full mountings, 


4 00 



^ <i ^,-.j<'>*= . ^ . -A. u. ^ C-, « 






^^. 

































W 




,^^^ 



■ /I o. 






%■' 









G^ 






>0 

•71 






^^. 



4 












1 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




390 582 A 




M 



